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MELBOURNE, April 3 (Reuters) – Formula One has suspended racing for three weeks following a dramatic Australian Grand Prix filled with crashes and red flags, but the debate over the balance between safety and fun is likely to linger into next week. One stop in Baku.
Eight cars failed to complete Sunday’s game Four crashed within seconds of the standing restart as managers failed to produce a winner from the two-lap sprint.
Organizers are also concerned about safety and security failure At Albert Park, a spectator was hit by debris from the crash as fans flooded the track before the race ended.
Several F1 teams will be busy during the break as they count the cost of a car wrecked in Australia and scramble to get spare parts.
“It will be expensive. To prepare the parts for the next race, I don’t know yet,” said Alpine boss Otmar Szafnauer.
Alpine drivers Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon collided in chaos after a late restart, missing out on championship points.
Stewards had hoped the race would decide the winner, but the carnage only triggered the third red flag and a parade victory behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen’s safety car.
Despite the victory, the defending champion was sharply critical of the restart’s second red flag, saying it confused drivers and caused unnecessary crashes.
“So they created their own problems,” he said.
McLaren driver Lando Norris was also skeptical about the motives behind the decision.
“It felt like a show. Someone did something stupid in turn one, lock it up and your race is over because they just wanted to make the show better,” the Briton said.
The ruling FIA was not immediately available for comment.
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Striking the right balance between safety and sport has long been a challenge for Formula One, which has tightened safety car rules following controversy over the title-deciding 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Michael Massey was replaced as race director after a late-race decision to tweak safety car rules helped Verstappen to his first title and prevented Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton from a record eighth name.
Officials no longer have that discretion, but the application of safety car rules continues to confuse drivers and team owners.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said he was not sure when the standard versus virtual safety car or red flags would come after the crash.
The application of standing restarts from the grid versus the relatively safe rolling restarts is also under the microscope.
Standing up starts poses a greater risk as cars accelerate and fight for position.
“The standing start is the most vulnerable part of any grand prix and we did it three races,” said Red Bull boss Christian Horner.
“So there’s always this concern. It’s never ideal.”
After arranging parts for Baku, Alpine’s Szafnauer may want to keep his suppliers on call.
Baku is the first of six sprint games this season.
Horner called the decision to choose Baku’s street circuit as the venue for the sprint competition “absolutely ridiculous” and could cost the team huge sums.
The Formula 1 ‘show’, backed by Netflix documentary series ‘Drive to Survive’, has attracted huge numbers of new viewers, while record attendance at Albert Park underscores the championship’s popularity, with around 440,000 attending in a week .
Organizers trumpeted the crowd on social media on Sunday, but were embarrassed when large numbers of fans stormed the track, saying they violated security and safety protocols.
A local man was left in the crowd bleeding Kevin Magnussen was cut to his arm after a large piece of debris from his smashed car flew over a fence and hit him.
Will Sweet, who came to see the show, was appalled at how close he came to disaster.
“If it had hit me at a different angle, it would have been scary,” he told radio station 3AW.
Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Peter Rutherford
Our standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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