Ocon hit with pit lane start after Alpine Parc Fermé exit

In another blow to Alpine's race weekend in Baku, the team has been forced to take Esteban Ocon's car out of Parc Fermé which will equate to a pitlane start for the Frenchman for Saturday's Sprint but also for Sunday's Grand Prix.

Alpine's wretched weekend started with a hydraulic leak on Pierre Gasly's A523 in free practice, which led to a massive effort by his crews to prepare his car in time for qualifying, only for Gasly to conclude his session prematurely in the wall.

On the other side of the Alpine garage, Ocon lost track time due to a gearbox fitting issue.

Alas the bout of misfortune extended into Saturday, with Gasly unable to take part in the Sprint Shootout due to an exhaust leak.

• Read also: A Friday to forget for frustrated Gasly in Baku

Furthermore, Alpine was compelled to pull Ocon's car out of Parc Fermé, to conduct work on the A523's suspension set-up.

But the move hits Ocon with a double whammy as F1 Sprint format regulations stipulate that when a car is taken out of parc Fermé, the pit lane start applies to both the Sprint race and to Sunday's main event.

"Car number 31 should now be required to start the Sprint and the Race from the pit lane according to Article 40.9 of the 2023 Formula One Sporting regulations", read a note from FIA Technical delegate Jo Bauer.

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