IMAGO / PanoramiC
MIAMI – Saturday’s qualifying session was missing a name: Esteban Ocon.
The alpine rider had crashed into the concrete barrier at turn 13 during training that day, suffering a 51G impact. Although the driver was fine, he had to be taken to the medical center by the force that activated the impact light. His car ended up with a cracked chassis. Ocon had to lose the classification for that.
But there may have been a way to make the damage less.
The day before, Carlos Sainz crashed in the same place during another training session, and Ocon revealed to Autosport that the Ferrari driver mentioned the matter during the driver’s briefing and asked him why he was not there. there was a tecpro barrier in turn.
“What’s really unacceptable, was 51G for what shouldn’t have had such a big impact,” Ocon told Autosport. “Not having it and [for only] A car passed by, but when Carlos complained to the race director, we were all there listening to him, and nothing was done.
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“There was a discussion last night. Carlos said the impact was too great for what it should have been. Today it felt huge, the impact. It’s probably the biggest derivation of my race, to be fair.
“Carlos was hurt yesterday. I got hurt today too. The FIA should do more for our safety. The important thing is that we can run, and I can run too. “
These barriers help absorb the shock of a crash, and Ocon said he thought repairs could have been made to his car in time for qualification if the barrier was in place.
“When a professional driver of the caliber of Carlos, who runs for Ferrari, says something like that yesterday, I think the least is that he has to be taken into account and do his best to make a change,” he said.
Sainz echoed similar thoughts when he spoke to Sky Sports after qualifying, where he finished P2 behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
“I’m sorry to be critical, but yesterday I told the FIA that my second-gear shock shouldn’t be so hard, but today it makes me a little sore in the neck,” Sainz said. “I told them, let’s put tecpro in it, because it’s a very hard concrete wall. Esteban crashed, and he must have heard it too. And it is one of those things that I will never understand. “
