The FIA say they will look at several regulations regarding race stoppages and the way lapped cars line up behind the safety car.
It used to be that lapped cars would be allowed to overtake the SC to regain track position at the rear of the pack, thus lining all the cars up in the correct racing order.
However, a change in the regulations means lapped cars can’t pass and therefore dilute the order, which many believe ruins the racing restart as faster cars have to negotiate slower, before they can challenge their true rivals.
FIA technical delegate Charlie Whiting confirmed that the FIA will look to change the way the SC works, but nothing had been agreed upon just yet.
“It’s on the agenda,” he said in Valencia. “We’ve attempted this before, as you know, but the procedure then was a bit complicated. I think there are simpler ways of doing it and we’ve discussed a few, but we haven’t been able to agree on anything.
“I agree that when the restart comes you don’t want lapped cars there as it dilutes the field.”
Also on the agenda, is a possible maximum time limit on a race. Currently, the race itself has a two-hour limit, but if a race is red flagged, therefore suspended, that time is added onto the two hours, rather than being counted as part of the race itself.
This was most recently seen at the Canadian Grand Prix which lasted a record-breaking four hours and four minutes, which presented several problems.
Whiting also confirmed that talks would take place to avoid such a situation in future.
“I think there are two things we’ve learned from suspending a race this year,” he added. “One is we need to discuss with the teams whether or not working on cars should be allowed and whether a change of tyres should be allowed during a [race] suspension.
“Also – and I never would have thought it – we maybe need to think about a maximum time for the race. We’re going to discuss that with the teams.”
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