No further action after Perez/Ocon clash in FP1
Formula 1 drivers Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon have escaped punishment after a collision between the pair brought out a red flag in FP1 at the Emilia Romagna GP on Friday.
The first session of running at Imola was blighted by technical issues that impacted both TV coverage, and radio and data communications between cars and their engineers on the pit wall.
The incident occurred at Turn 5 some 36 minutes into the session.
Alpine driver Ocon was on a slow lap and tried to move out of the way to let the fast approaching Red Bull of Perez go past him.
However, due to a misunderstanding exacerbated by the lack of radio communications that made it hard for teams to tell drivers about potential traffic issues, the two cars made contact, with Perez's left rear touching Ocon's right front.
Perez spun to a halt on the exit of Turn 6 with obvious damage to the wheel concerned, while Ocon was forced to pull off the track and park after the corner. With both cars out of action, the session was immediately red-flagged.
The technical issues meant that no proper TV coverage was available of the incident, and no onboard footage was broadcast, and thus in the immediate aftermath it was not entirely clear what has transpired.
Both drivers were summoned to the stewards half an hour after the session, where they agreed that neither was at fault. The stewards decided to take no further action.
In the report of their decision, the stewards said: "Ocon slowed before Turn 5 in order to let Perez by, as well as moving entirely to the inside of the turn. Perez was on a fast lap. The two cars reached the apex at the same time, and just barely touched wheels.
"In the end, both drivers agreed in the hearing that it was an unfortunate miscommunication of timing between them, not helped by the fact that both drivers had limited or no communications with their teams at the time.
"Both drivers agreed that neither was at fault. The Stewards therefore take no further action."
Related video
Vettel senses 'positive' response from Aston over F1 struggles
F1 and MotoGP to honour late Fausto Gresini on Sunday
The underdog F1 squad that thrust Senna into the limelight
The Toleman TG184 was the car that could, according to legend, have given Ayrton Senna his first F1 win but for Alain Prost and Jacky Ickx at Monaco in 1984. That could be stretching the boundaries of the truth a little, but as STUART CODLING explains, the team's greatest legacy was in giving the Brazilian prodigy passed over by bigger outfits an opportunity
Why Aston Martin is unlikely to repeat Jaguar’s F1 mistakes
Two famous manufacturer teams born out of humble midfield origins, splashing the cash while attempting to rise to the top of F1 in record time. There are clear parallels between Lawrence Stroll’s Aston Martin and the doomed Jaguar Racing project of 22 years ago, but Mark Gallagher believes struggling Aston can avoid a similar fate.
How rejuvenated Haas recovered its F1 mojo
US-owned but until recently Russian-backed, Haas seems to have reached a turning point in car performance after three gruesome seasons. And it needs to if it’s to attract fresh investment. Team boss Gunther Steiner tells Oleg Karpov how close Haas came to the abyss.
How F1 race leaders have now lost their comfort blanket
As Formula 1 teams have settled down in understanding the new generation of cars and the way they need to maximise their performance, fresh lessons have emerged. Jonathan Noble investigates how they have brought with them an all-new kind of grand prix racing
Gilles Villeneuve's 10 greatest F1 drives
Formula 1 lost one of its brightest stars when Gilles Villeneuve was killed during practice for the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix. Forty years on, Motorsport.com picks out the greatest drives by a Ferrari legend
The silver lining of Ferrari’s Miami GP defeat
OPINION: Much was made of Formula 1’s first Miami Grand Prix – what turned out to be a very ‘marmite’ event for both those in attendance and everyone following on TV. But even as the on-track battle between Red Bull and Ferrari it produced continued the negative run of results for the red team, it contained a glimmer it must hope continues to shine
How imperfect Miami offered F1's drivers a unique challenge
OPINION: Despite all of the stylistic embellishments festooning Formula 1's inaugural Miami Grand Prix, the Miami International Autodrome offered the drivers a unique challenge and punished driver errors; a stark contrast to the usual cast of modern-day circuits
Why F1’s turbulent relationship with Russia is nothing new
Russia’s involvement in Formula 1 has been big on promise but short on delivery – then reached the end of the road prematurely. MARK GALLAGHER investigates why