‘Motorsport Is Cruel’: Esteban Ocon Shows Sympathy for Sebastian Vettel

Esteban Ocon shocked the whole F1 fraternity after securing his maiden win in Formula 1 at Hungarian Grand Prix. The Frenchman showcased massive resilience to keep both Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton at bay.

However, after the race, FIA announced that Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel had been disqualified following his P2 finish at the Hungaroring. According to the rules of the sport, authorities should be able to extract a 1 liter sample of fuel from an F1 car at any point in the race. They could only extract 0.3 liters of fuel from Seb’s car, and as a result, they disqualified him from the race.

Given how hard earned Vettel’s P2 was, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon showed sympathy for the German.

Watch Story: When F1 Drivers Had a Blast on Top Gear Featuring Hamilton, Vettel & Ricciardo

What did Esteban Ocon say?

“I am a bit sad for Seb, because he did such a good race, and in the end getting disqualified, it’s not something that we like to see. We like to see racing on track and to keep that position after,” said Esteban Ocon.

“But that’s how motorsport is sometimes. Motorsport is cruel. It’s obviously not a great thing to see and a sad end for him. But Seb is coming back from that, I am sure.”

Aston Martin initiates appeal procedure for Sebastian Vettel DQ

The four-time world champion, Sebastian Vettel, stopped his Aston Martin AMR21 soon after he crossed the chequered flag to ensure 1-liter fuel in his car. However, the FIA failed to extract the required amount.

After the German’s elimination from the Hungarian GP, Aston Martin immediately made their intentions clear to appeal for it. The Silverstone-based team had a 96 hours deadline after round 11 at Budapest, to decide whether to take the case further.

And on Thursday evening, Aston Martin released an official statement claiming that Vettel’s car had 1.74 litres of fuel after the race and the team has requested a right of review alongside the appeal procedure.

The Aston Martin statement reads: “There was and is no suggestion that Vettel’s Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team AMR21 car benefited from a performance advantage from the alleged regulatory breach, or that it was deliberate.

“Since the team’s data indicated that there was more than 1.0 litre of fuel in the car after the race – 1.74 litres according to the data – the team immediately reserved its right to appeal, and has requested a right of review alongside the appeal procedure.”

“As a result of having discovered significant new evidence relevant to the sanction which was unavailable to it at the time of the FIA stewards’ decision.”

Read More: Heartening Video Proves Why Sebastian Vettel Is Unlike Any Other F1 Driver

Can Aston Martin and Sebastian Vettel win the appeal against the FIA? What do you think? Let us know in the comments section below.