Japanese GP: Ocon gets grid penalty for failing to slow for red flag
Racing Point Force India driver Esteban Ocon will drop three places on the grid for Formula 1's Japanese Grand Prix for failing to slow sufficiently for red flags in practice
Ocon was adjudged to have breached red-flag rules during the third free practice session of the weekend, after Renault's Nico Hulkenberg crashed to suspend the session.
The stewards' statement explained that Ocon had been confused by Force India's system for managing pace under red flags and ended up speeding for three mini-sectors of the lap.
Ocon, who was best of the rest behind the three top teams in all three practice sessions, qualified an initial eighth in a mixed-weather Q3.
He will now drop behind Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, Force India team-mate Sergio Perez and Sauber's Charles Leclerc to start 11th.
"The driver informed the Stewards, and the telemetry showed, that he had slowed down for the red flags," the stewards' decision read.
"However, after Turn 4, he heard some beeps on the radio that suggested he was too slow and sped up briefly to regularise his speed.
"In doing so, he briefly exceeded the delta by a maximum of -1.68 [seconds] over three mini sectors.
"As a result, he had failed to maintain the speed delta required under the regulations, resulting in an infringement.
"He acknowledged the infringement and attributed it to confusion caused by the beeps and the system currently being used by the team in such situations.
"In the end, given the importance of observance of the speed restrictions while red flags are being shown and recognising the limited extend of the breach, we decided to impose the above penalty."
Ocon has also picked up two penalty points, having had none on his license for the 12-month period heading into the weekend.
Previous article
Japanese GP Q3 tactics shows Mercedes is best team - Hamilton
Next article
Sebastian Vettel 'not blaming' Ferrari for poor Suzuka qualifying
About this article
| Series | Formula 1 |
| Drivers | Esteban Ocon |
| Author | Valentin Khorounzhiy |
Why McLaren doesn’t doubt Ricciardo can escape his ‘dark’ place
Three points finishes from as many starts represents a decent opening innings on paper, but Daniel Ricciardo has endured a tough start to his McLaren career - only magnified his team-mate's excellent form. Yet both he and the team have good reason to expect a turnaround soon
What needs to “change” for Red Bull is ending Verstappen’s errors
OPINION: Going up against the dominant force of Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton was always going to demand the best from Red Bull and Max Verstappen. But after making a couple more errors during the Portuguese Grand Prix, the Dutch driver showed there's a small gap he still needs to close in the 2021 Formula 1 title fight
The "subtle" Red Bull upgrades that kept it in the Portugal F1 mix
Red Bull's Portuguese Grand Prix fortunes were decidedly second best to Mercedes', but the result skews the potential that the team had at Portimao. With a new set of updates, the team looks good going forward into the rest of 2021's spicy F1 competition
Portuguese Grand Prix Driver Ratings
The 2021 Portuguese GP will for several drivers go down as a weekend of missed opportunities amid imperfect track conditions that caused struggles with tyre warmup. But the performances of a select few stood out from the crowd
How Hamilton took a “completely different journey” to Portugal victory
Just as he did in 2020, Lewis Hamilton had to come from behind to win the 2021 Portuguese Grand Prix. Only this time there were two rivals he had to pass, among the several challenges he had to overcome, on his way to securing a 97th grand prix victory
The ‘big fish’ mentality that kept an Australian legend winning
Frank Gardner was the veteran of just eight grand prix starts. It could have been more, but why waste his talent if the cars weren't up to it? NIGEL ROEBUCK recalls the life of one of racing's great characters
Why Todt’s FIA successor could be cut from the same cloth
Jean Todt has signalled that he will not stand for re-election as FIA president. MARK GALLAGHER analyses the strong credentials of one potential successor…
The data that leaves both Red Bull and Mercedes uncertain of supremacy at Portimao
Lewis Hamilton topped the crucial FP2 session on Friday as F1 returned to Portugal, but his Mercedes team cannot be sure it has the edge on its Red Bull rivals. As cool temperatures and wind combine with the still-slippery surface to present drivers with quandaries over set-up and tyre warmup, there's still everything to play for come qualifying
