'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Pierre Gasly accidentally drove over a pit crew mechanic's foot during a pitstop at the 2024 F1 Chinese GP.
The French driver started the race on medium tires and tried to gain a few positions before pitting. On lap 12, he was running in ninth place when Alpine decided to pit him for hard tires.
Pierre Gasly came into the pits without any issue and the mechanics started changing the tires on the car. The issue began when the pit crew struggled to remove the rear right tire from the Alpine car. The front and rear jack mechanics removed the jacks from the car, which indicated to Gasly that the pitstop was complete.
When the Alpine driver started moving out of the pit box, the rear right tire, which was still stuck in the car, squeezed a mechanic's foot who was trying to remove it. This caused the mechanic to jump back and fall off. Due to the jerk, the rear right tire eventually got detached.
The front and rear jack mechanics lifted the car once again for other pit crew members to fit the new tire before letting Gasly leave the pits.
Due to this chaos, Alpine took 19.3 seconds to complete the pitstop. Hence, the French driver lost a lot of positions in the Chinese GP and came out on track in P20.
Pierre Gasly shares his view on the scary pitstop at the 2024 F1 Chinese GP
Following the 2024 F1 Chinese GP, Pierre Gasly shared his views on the horrific pit stop in which he accidentally drove over a mechanic's foot who was trying to remove the rear right tire from the car.
Speaking to the media after the race, including Sportskeeda, Gasly explained that the pitstop light went green after the front jacks were off; hence, he dropped the clutch and started moving. He further added that the mechanic was fine after the incident.
“Yeah, quite scary, actually. My green light, the light went green so I dropped the clutch, but then it went red straightaway. And then I saw him in the mirror and saw the wheel wasn’t on. The mechanic is fine, which I was a bit scared of," Gasly said.
Later on, the Alpine driver mentioned how the team has struggled with pitstops lately and needs to review and improve in the future.
"We’ve had a couple of instances this year where I’ve lost some time on the box, so I’m sure we’ll review exactly what’s happened and improve it for next time,” he added.
Pierre Gasly finished P13 in the Chinese GP. He has yet to score a point in the 2024 F1 season.
