[ad_1]
Due to the FIA’s strict adherence to procedures laid out in the rulebook, the race at Monza ended behind the safety car – something that did not happen in last year’s F1 season finale.
While the governing body will inevitably review what happened to see if there is anything it could do better to restart the shootout for at least one lap on Sunday, there is no doubt that it complied with the letter.
game rules
F1’s Safety Car Regulations form an integral part of the F1 Sport Regulations – Article 55.
Here is a list of how and when the safety car will be taken out, as well as the procedures that competitors and safety car drivers must follow.
After the race, a lot happened about how the safety car got the wrong car – it was ahead of third-placed George Russell, not front-runner Max Verstappen.
Interestingly, however, the rules do not dictate that the safety car can only leave the pits to pick up the lead.
Instead, Article 55.6 states: “The safety car will join the track with the orange light on, wherever the leader is.”
So there was nothing wrong with it initially leading Russell, who on lap 48 used the call of the safety car to sneak into the pits.
The normal procedure then is to switch the light on top of the safety car from orange to green to signal that any car driving in front of the leader can overtake it.
This then moves the leading car forward to get ahead of the crowd, while everyone else ends up in the back.
Crucially, this was delayed at Monza, which is believed to be due to complications with law enforcement officers in retrieving Ricardo’s car.
The McLaren was stuck in a gear and law enforcement couldn’t push it to the nearest clearance.
This means using a crane, which is on the other side of the track and needs to cross the track.
The best way to do this safely is to ensure that there is a gap in traffic that is large enough to give the cranes the right time to travel – so that means trying to stop trains from creating this buffer.
Safety Car George Russell, Mercedes W13, Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-22, Carlos Sainz, Ferrari F1-75
Photography: Andy Horn / motorsport pictures
During the delay, Russell asked if he could pass the safety car, but the orange light remained on, meaning he couldn’t.
The safety car kept pulling Russell, and even Verstappen didn’t line up until the end of lap 50.
It wasn’t until lap 51, when a train of cars approached Ascari Chicane, that the safety lights finally turned green – allowing Russell and the cars between him and Verstappen to pass.
But this is only the first sequence that needs to happen before rebooting.
The next stage is that once the lead is formed behind the safety gear, then the course staff will have the option to let the lapped cars overtake.
In Abu Dhabi, the selective choice of picking out a few lap cars was controversial – as it gave Verstappen a cushion behind him against the third-placed car.
Since then, the FIA ​​has justified its decision of the day through rules, which previously stipulated that it only referred to “any” and not “all” laps, now the rules have been rewritten to require all laps to pass.
But when leader Verstappen finally got ahead of the queue at the Ascari exit on lap 51, the time had actually come as Abu Dhabi ignored a key rule allowing a restart.
Once the message that the lap car can overtake is shown, then the rules are clear that at least one more lap is required before restarting.
Article 55.13 states: “Once the “LAPPED CARS MAY NOW OVERTAKE” message has been sent to all competitors using the official messaging system, the safety car will return to the pits at the end of the next lap.
As a result, stadium staff actually have less than a minute to decide whether to let the lapped car pass, or the game to end.
Decided to wait. And the “later lap” requirement means it can’t be posted on lap 52 because it’s impossible to start over until lap 53 is over, which is the checkered flag.
In Abu Dhabi, the FIA ​​ignored the “follow the lap” requirement and restarted the race at the end of the same lap that was posted by the lap car. It stands to reason that the regulations give the F1 race director complete freedom to choose the rules he follows.
This is based on Article 15.3, which states that the race director has “overriding powers” over many matters, including the safety car.
Safety car Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W12, Lando Norris, McLaren MCL35M, Fernando Alonso, Alpine A521, other teams
Photography: Sam Bloxham / motorsport pictures
Fan Nu
The FIA ​​abides by the law at Monza and when Verstappen ends up leading the pack, it’s unlikely to start over.
And the “last lap” requirement added even more frustration, as it meant the last two laps behind the safety car before the flag.
It was at that moment that the fans started booing and Ferrari made it clear that their anger was directed at the FIA ​​and not Max Verstappen himself.
“I think the boos from our tifosi were more aimed at the FIA,” said Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto.
“Just by booing the first car and the winner, it’s trying to boo the FIA. The reason is that the riders and the people out there believe the safety car could have ended early.”
For seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton, he couldn’t help but notice the contrast between what happened on Sunday and last year’s final lap of the F1 title race in Abu Dhabi.
“It always brings back memories. That’s the rules of how they should read,” he told Sky.
“Only once in the history of the sport they didn’t play by the rules as they do today, when they changed the outcome of the championship. But that’s what it is.”
[ad_2]
Source link