The Frenchman made a last-minute stop after using the hard tyres for most of the race in an attempt to benefit from the convenient timing of the safety car, but he never got there.
When he finally pulled into the pits at the end of the penultimate lap, he found a crowd at the pit entrance as the procedure to set up the parc ferme had begun, as the relevant FIA officials hadn’t realized that Ocon hadn’t pitted yet.
After the game, Baku stewards met with officials, and both agreed that changes should be made for Miami and beyond.
“We have discussed the relevant procedures and protocols in detail with FIA representatives and ask them to take immediate steps to reconsider these procedures and protocols with relevant stakeholders, including FOM, teams and the FIA, to ensure that this situation will not happen again.
“The FIA representatives regret what happened and assured us they will do so in time for the next race.”
Some elements of the new procedures that relate directly to the teams are disclosed in the post-race procedure documents issued for each race.
It explicitly tells teams that their VIPs and mechanics heading to the parc ferme to meet arriving cars must stay out of the pit lane until the last car has crossed the start/finish line and it is clear that there will be no more pit stops.
The FIA states: “Team mechanics are not allowed to move from their garages to the parc ferme with cooling fans because they expect their cars to be stopped at the end of the race until after the last car has taken the checkered flag.
“No other personnel or VIPs are allowed in the pit lane until the last car has taken the checkered flag.
“Any violation will result in the team concerned being disqualified for the pass in the ensuing match and the offending team may be reported to the referee.”
Max Verstappen won the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix and now has more Grand Prix victories for Red Bull than Sebastian Vettel. The Dutchman’s brilliant final stage in qualifying saw him take pole position, but his superlong performance on the medium tyres, which was almost as impressive, gave him an easy win.
It didn’t seem to come, but after 50 of the 78 laps of the Monaco Grand Prix, it did: it started to rain. After a few laps, the rain started to fall heavily, and the slick tires could no longer continue driving. Drivers were skidding around corners everywhere, but miraculously, most managed to keep their cars clear of the crash barrier or keep going.
Josef Newgarden wins the Indy 500 in an intense final stage. There was a red flag, but the race restarted with one lap to go. Newgarden jumped at the chance and outmaneuvered Marcus Ericsson for the win, while Rinus Veekay crossed the finish line in tenth.