Explained: Pit stop mishap for F1 driver who had no mechanics
Cause revealed of strange incident at F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix
Bizarre footage of a botched pit stop at the F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix has been explained.
Alpine’s Esteban Ocon came into the pits - but had just a single mechanic seemingly ready for his arrival.
Ocon drove off, as a result, wasting precious time and needing to pit again later.
“Ocon was a miscommunication in the pits between the engineers and the mechanics,” Sky Sports’ Ted Kravitz explained.
“So when Ocon came in to the garage, the mechanics had not been told, and were not out in the pit.
“Ocon was like ‘woah I’ve come in here, where is my pit crew? Bit odd…’
“So he went through and wasted 11 seconds of race time, then had to come by and pit again when the pit crew were told that ‘Ocon is coming in’.
“He had to pit for soft tyres at the end, on Lap 46, because his tyres were gone. A new set of softs were the only tyres he had left.”
Ocon could only finish 17th at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, having qualified in 11th.
On a dreadful day for Alpine, Ocon’s teammate Pierre Gasly lined up third on the starting grid but failed to finish.
“Gasly was a DNF because some cylinders started to go off, then the engine pretty much blew,” Kravitz explained.
Alpine have lost crucial ground in the constructors’ championship after their bad day at the office.
Haas have overtaken them into sixth place in the standings after Nico Hulkenberg finished within the points.
Each spot in the constructors’ championship is worth approximately $10 million - meaning Alpine’s forgettable Las Vegas Grand Prix could hit them in the pocket.
They have two rounds remaining this season to claw back a place, and the money as a result.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
