FIA outlines new F1 parc ferme protocols after Ocon incident
The FIA has outlined some of the new procedures intended to avoid the dangerous situation that confronted Esteban Ocon when he pitted on the final lap of Formula 1's Azerbaijan GP.
The Frenchman made a last-minute stop after running hard tyres for most of the race in an attempt to gain from the handy timing from a safety car that never materialised for him.
When he finally came into the pits at the end of the penultimate lap, he found a group of people in the pit entry as the procedure for setting up parc ferme had started, as the FIA officials involved didn't realise that Ocon had yet to pit.
After the race, the Baku stewards met with the officials concerned and both parties agreed that changes should be made for Miami and beyond.
The stewards noted: "We walked through the relevant procedures and protocol with the FIA representatives in detail and required them to take immediate steps to reconsider these procedures and protocols with the relevant stakeholders (including FOM, the teams and the FIA) to ensure that this situation does not occur again.
"The FIA representatives expressed their regret at what happened and assured us that they would do so in time for the next event."
Some elements of the new procedures that relate directly to the teams were revealed in the post-race procedure document that is issued at every event.
Lando Norris, McLaren MCL60, leaves the pits
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
It expressly tells teams that both their VIP guests and mechanics heading to parc ferme to greet arriving cars must stay clear of the pitlane until the last car has crossed the start/finish line and it is clear that there will be no more pit stops.
The FIA noted: "Team mechanics are not permitted to move from their garages to the parc ferme with cooling fans in anticipation of their cars stopping at the end of the race until after the last car has taken the chequered flag.
"Any other personnel or VIPs are not permitted to enter the pit lane until after the last car has taken the chequered flag.
"Any infringement will result in the removal of passes from the team(s) in question from subsequent events, and potential reporting of the infringing team(s) to the stewards."
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