04/11/2023
NEWS STORY
Sao Paulo stewards opt to take no further action over the clash involving Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso which saw SQ1 red-flagged.
Initial coverage of the incident appeared to suggest that the Spaniard turned in on the Alpine driver who was on a flying lap. However, TV replays showed that in fact the Frenchman had already lost control of the car before the clash.
Naturally, both drivers blamed the other for the clash, which meant that Alonso was unable to participate in SQ2 despite making the cut.
Having heard from both drivers and their team representatives, and having viewed all the relevant positioning/marshalling system data, video, team radio and in-car video evidence, the stewards determined that Alonso was aware that Ocon was approaching at high speed on the exit of Turn 2 and moved off of the racing line so that the Alpine driver could pass.
At Turn 3 however, Ocon lost the balance of the car and went wide on the exit. At the same time, Alonso turned more towards the racing line giving less room for the Frenchman. It was the combination of these two elements lead to the collision.
Consequently the stewards determined that no driver was wholly or predominantly to blame and therefore no penalty was applied.
George Russell, Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris and Ocon were also summoned by the stewards for non-compliance with the rule mandating a maximum time from the second safety car line to the first safety car line.
The stewards found that all drivers concerned stayed at or above speeds necessary to stay below 1:14.0 around the vast majority of the circuit.
However, in all cases they determined that the drivers took appropriate actions to not impede other drivers, and in all cases they slowed down significantly to allow other drivers to pass while giving those drivers a clear track.
The stewards therefore determined that the drivers concerned did not drive "unnecessarily slowly", and that the reason they were above the maximum time was due to their appropriate actions and therefore opted to take no further action.
However, in additional cases Norris and Yuki Tsunoda were both given reprimands.
In the McLaren driver's case he completed a cool-down lap and maintained the delta for most of the lap while following Tsunoda with a reasonable gap.
Tsunoda crossed SC2 Line just after Leclerc who was exiting the pit. Therefore, Tsunoda had to slow down to create a gap between himself and the Ferrari, thus also impacting Norris.
During the hearing Norris stated that he felt he had to decide between exceeding the delta time and overtaking Tsunoda thereby risking impeding the AlphaTauri driver.
The stewards accepted that Norris made every reasonable effort to not interfere with the car in front of him and was at the same time well aware that no car was behind.
Nonetheless, Norris's cool-down lap was not impacted by other cars on flying laps, therefore the stewards determined that he could have done more to manage the delta time in a better way and therefore considered a reprimand to be appropriate.
Similarly, the stewards accepted that Tsunoda made a reasonable effort to not interfere with the car in front, nonetheless his cool-down lap was not impacted by other drivers on flying laps.
Again, the stewards felt he could have done more to manage the delta time in a better way and therefore handed him a reprimand also.
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