FIA has time and again reiterated its stance on prioritizing drivers’ safety. Given how it has introduced measures like the halo and different sensors in the cars is a testament to its commitment. However, that commitment has time and again come under some serious scrutiny owing to incidents of negligence that could have proved to be disastrous. One such incident happened yesterday when Esteban Ocon came into the pits. A former Aston Martin employee has now slammed the ruling body for it by citing its commitment to non-issues like Lewis Hamilton‘s jewelry.

Hamilton’s tussle with FIA over the jewelry ban has become a hot issue in F1 for some time. Citing drivers’ safety, the ruling body banned the wearing of jewelry. The rule came under heavy scrutiny from various drivers, including the Mercedes man. While others cited the sentimental value of something like a wedding band, Lewis called upon the cultural significance of different ornaments he proudly sports. Nevertheless, the friction has refused to die down between the two.

FIA slammed by ex-Aston Martin employee for prioritizing Lewis Hamilton issue over drivers’ safety

Ocon started the race in Azerbaijan on hard tires and never came in for a change. However, owing to the rule of having one mandatory pit stop, he waited till the final lap. Unaware of the rule, the photography crew started to move towards the parc ferme which was right at the start of the pit lane. Coming in, the Frenchman was greeted by a sea of people who luckily got out of the way just in time.

Taking the FIA to task for its dangerous negligence, Matt Bishop wrote on Twitter, “Message to Mohammed ben Sulayem: we’ll have absolutely no more footling nonsense from you about trivia such as Lewis Hamilton’s nose studs ’til you’ve got the FIA’s race-safety house in order. End of.”

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Before Matt, F1 fans expressed their anger with the FIA as well. They too raised the issue of Hamilton’s jewelry being a bigger problem for them than drivers’ safety.

What Esteban Ocon had to say about the final lap fiasco

To avoid scenarios like what happened with the Alpine driver yesterday, FIA put in place a rule prohibiting team crews from celebrating on the pit wall. With that, they also prohibited other personnel from strolling in the pit lane while the race is in progress. However, they failed to enforce their own rule in Baku.

Reacting to the incident post-race, Ocon said, “It was a good race until I had to box on the last lap. Not something we want to see. I don’t understand why the people are prepping the podium while we are still racing in the pitlane. It was a very, very close moment, I’m arriving at 300kph, braking at the last moment, and I’m seeing people around. It’s definitely something that needs to be changed.”

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After Pierre Gasly’s narrow escape last year in Japan where he avoided crashing into the recovery vehicle, this incident has raised some serious questions about Mohammed Ben Sulayem and his team’s competency. It is high time the FIA boss gets his house in order before a serious incident leaves a devastating effect on the sport.