It was indeed impressive in a way. The first offense came right at the start. Ocon’s right front wheel crossed the white line by a few centimeters, which precisely defines for the pilots in which position they must stand before the red lights go out. Even last year, that piece would probably have passed the commissioners, but before this year, the rules were tightened, so soon after the start there was a five-second penalty.
“I wasn’t the only one who crossed that line. There were four other cars, but I was the only one who got the penalty,” joked Ocon, who started from a solid ninth position.
But that was only the beginning of his “cheerful” Bahraini stories, in which that “piece” played a vital role. When he pitted to have his front wing replaced, while serving that five-second penalty, another short circuit occurred. The rules say clearly – the pilot stops in the pits and only after the penalty is over can the mechanics start working on the car. So Ocon braked, the mechanics of the Alpine stable got ready in positions so as not to lose a bit of time, but one of them couldn’t stand it and touched the car after 4.6 seconds .
So the commissioners gave Ocon another penalty, this time a ten-second one, for not completing the penalty.
Photo: Frank Augstein, ČTK/AP
Esteban Ocon (left) and Charles Leclerc at the circuit in Bahrain. They laughed before the race, but not after it, because none of the pilots made it to the finish line.Photo: Frank AugsteinČTK/AP
But when the Frenchman passed it, another blow came, because according to the measurements, he did not observe the maximum permitted speed in the pit lane. The temperature is 80 there, but Ocon was “rushing” at 80.1 km/h.
And so there was another five second penalty!
“I don’t understand at all. At the beginning of my career, I always enter the pit lane the same way and I never exceeded the speed,” he wondered. Maybe the stable didn’t have the limiter set correctly or Ocon pressed it late…
And so it is not surprising that in the 41st lap out of a total of 57, Ocon entered the pits again and definitely stayed in them. “We’re usually good at these procedures. Whether it’s pit stops or at the start, those are the things we focus on, but today everything went wrong. I never thought this would happen, but we’ll learn,” Ocon said. “It’s a painful result because I should have scored points today. It’s a missed opportunity.”
