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Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto has left the Italian Grand Prix frustrated with how race director Niels Wittich has handled Daniel Ricciardo’s late retirement , seems to follow the rulebook.
Ricciardo exited the track between the two Lesmos on lap 47/53 to retire and a safety car had been released to resume the Australian’s car.
The recovery process took much longer than Wittich had expected, as it was revealed that Ricardo’s MCL36 was stuck in gear, which resulted in law enforcement requiring a tractor to remove the car from the track.
Due to the time it took, the race ended behind the safety car and the incident was deemed not to require a red flag.
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Binotto was furious that Charles Leclerc didn’t get a chance to take on race winner Max Verstappen, with the Ferrari driver finishing second behind the safety car.
“Today we have all the conditions to restart the game, I don’t know why they waited so long,” Binotto told Sky Italia after the game
“The FIA was caught asleep and maybe they’re not ready for these situations.”
Some have called for the rules to be changed so that games can be restarted in the event of a similar situation; however, Binotto believes this is unnecessary.
“No, I don’t think it’s a matter of changing the rules,” the Ferrari boss said.
“These rules have been discussed to a large extent, especially after Abu Dhabi last year.
“They had discussions with the FIA, F1 and the teams and we came to the conclusion that the current format is probably the right format to keep. So I don’t think it’s a regulatory issue today
“I’m certainly disappointed in how long it took them to make a decision, and I don’t think we understand why it took so long between the safety car and the leader to release the car.
“I don’t think safety is the right reason, because when you’re released, as a driver, you can’t simply run around the track because there’s a minimum lap time in the rules
“And this shortest lap time is to make sure they do it safely while running and driving
“So what we don’t understand is why it took them so long to make a decision based on the current rules that we think are correct.”
Following criticism from paddock members and a wave of boos from Tifosi, the FIA was forced to issue a statement explaining why the recovery took longer than expected.
The FIA blamed Ricciardo’s car being stuck in gear, as it complicates recovery.
Binotto understands that removing the 33-year-old’s car has become more difficult due to issues with his MCL36, but he remains adamant that the race should be restarted somehow.
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“I know it can be complicated,” he added.
“But at the same time, I think we could have done better with the help of the safety car to get the whole train ready for the new race to start. And that didn’t happen.
“So I think it’s wrong and could have been better; without changing the regulations. The regulations are in place, it’s just applying them in a better way.”
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