Italian GP: Aston Martin and Alpine both fined after pit-lane chaos in qualifying

Both Aston Martin and Alpine have been fined €5,000 (£4,267) after their infractions; Sebastian Vettel was released into the path of Lewis Hamilton, while an Alpine team member then blocked Vettel in the pit-lane

By Matt Morlidge

There's almost a pile up in the pitlane as several cars almost collide, while an Alpine mechanic is nearly knocked over!

Aston Martin and Alpine have both been hit with fines for their roles in the pit-lane chaos that ensued during Italian GP qualifying on Friday.

Before the final laps in Q2 there was a rush of cars in the Monza pits as the majority of the teams - desperate to pick up a 'tow' from other cars - released their cars from the garages at the same time.

But it very nearly led in some crashes as Sebastian Vettel, after being ushered onto the busy pit-lane by Aston Martin, narrowly avoided Lewis Hamilton.

Image: Sebastian Vettel was released into the path of Lewis Hamilton in the pits

Moments later, a member of the Alpine team then effectively blocked Vettel and Hamilton in the pit-lane as he tried to release Esteban Ocon.

Both Aston Martin and Alpine have been fined €5,000 (£4,267) after their infractions.

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In their verdicts, Italian GP stewards stated that Hamilton "had to take avoiding action" to prevent a crash with Vettel, who was "released into the path" of the Mercedes.

Image: An Alpine team member then blocked Vettel in the pit-lane

On Alpine, they noted that a team member was "operating in an unsafe manner" after stepping "back into the pit lane, close to the fast line into the path of Car 5 (Vettel)."

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They added: "While the stewards accept that members of other teams also stepped this far into the pit lane, they did not obstruct another car and were not in a particularly dangerous situation.

"In the case of Car 31 (Ocon), the stewards determined that this was an unsafe act."

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