“Same happened to Charles and Lewis in 2019″– Esteban Ocon calls the Italian GP penalty to him for brushing his wheels with Sebastian Vettel unfair.
Esteban Ocon had to serve a five-second penalty for brushing his car’s wheel with Sebastian Vettel’s Aston Martin. It happened when Ocon was defending his position and forced the German out of the track limits while crossing over the Chicane.
In response, Ocon has called the penalty unfair, as he claims that the same thing happened between Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in 2019, and no action was taken, therefore, a wrong precedent.
“A P7 or P6 would have been possible today, so it’s a bit frustrating with the incidents that happened on the track, the penalties,” said Ocon. “I say penalties because it’s two penalties, not one.
“One was off the start with having to give the position back to Nicholas, but four laps after the start [the change came on lap seven] when we’ve settled in a rhythm already, and it [the instruction] took quite a lot of time to come.
“Then with Sebastian is a racing action; it’s not really a racing incident because the same happened to Charles and Lewis in 2019, and there was no action taken.
“We have no damage on the car, nothing really happened and it cost me a good three places, I would say.”
The track narrows
The race.com cited Appendix L of the FIA’s International Sporting Code, which suggested that Ocon broke the rule, but the Frenchman argued that the track at the turn narrows too much for him to do anything.
“We’re side by side, a bit too close, but basically the track narrows once you arrive on braking,” said Ocon when asked by The Race about the car’s width rule.”
“I didn’t really move the steering wheel but it’s just that the track just narrows and that’s what happened exactly with Charles and Lewis. And if that incident didn’t have any penalties or things like that, then mine shouldn’t have as well because it’s two of the same thing.”
“I normally agree with the stewards but that time, I disagree with both I have to say.”
