Ocon one of 11 drivers to get a warning: "Is just like being in a traffic jam"
by GPblog.comEsteban Ocon survived the crash on restart but was still unable to continue due to overheated brakes. This was a disappointment for the Frenchman, who was completely confused by the situation at the restart.
From the moment the Safety Car went in, it was Valtteri Bottas' turn to set the pace. Because the Finn didn't want to get on his gas until the very last moment, confusion arose at the back of the field. Kevin Magnussen, Daniil Kvyat, Nicholas Latifi, Alexander Albon, Lance Stroll, Daniel Ricciardo, Sergio Perez, Lando Norris, Esteban Ocon, George Russell, Antonio Giovinazzi and Carlos Sainz were warned of inconstant driving.
Thought something went wrong
"The lights of the Safety Car went out a lot later than we are used to, so when the guys kept driving so slowly while my team said the Safety Car would go in, I thought something had gone wrong in the communication," says the Renault driver according to Racefans.net.
Together with eleven other drivers, Ocon received a penalty for his changing speeds, which was the cause of the crash, according to the stewards. ''We drove very slowly for a very long time and of course, you sometimes have some gears to close the gap to the front, just like in a traffic jam. Behind us, however, everyone was surprised and I was lucky that I wasn't hit'', concludes Ocon, who would drop out during the red flag situation that followed.