Formula 1 race director Niels Wittich has reminded all drivers of the need to drive in a safe manner during Safety Car restarts.
Wittich’s words are believed to be aimed at Max Verstappen, after the reigning F1 champion used similar tactics in the three most recent races to try and gain the upper hand over the leading car.
In Abu Dhabi, Verstappen drew alongside race leader Lewis Hamilton and at one point, albeit briefly, even passed the Mercedes driver, who at the time took over the role of the Safety Car as it peeled off into the pit lane.
In the 2022 season opener in Bahrain, he drew alongside leader Charles Leclerc at the penultimate corner and again in Saudi Arabia.
In updated event notes, Wittich highlighted Article 55.14 of the F1 sporting regulations, reminding drivers that they shouldn’t draw alongside another car during a restart or driver in an “erratic” manner, which includes braking or accelerating sharply.
“In order to avoid the likelihood of accidents before the safety car returns to the pits, from the point at which the lights on the car are turned out drivers must proceed at a pace which involves no erratic acceleration or braking nor any manoeuvre which is likely to endanger other drivers or impede the restart.”
The event notes were accompanied by a diagram, showing what is and isn’t acceptable.
The first two pictures shows the car behind drawing alongside the car ahead, which isn’t allowed, with the final diagrams explaining that cars can pull up to the rear of the car ahead as long as they keep to the side, or alternatively they must leave a safety gap if they wish to follow directly behind.
It’s just the latest clampdown by new race director Wittich, who also raised concerns over jewellery and underwear during Friday’s driver meeting.
Clarify what shall know a correct restart isn’t enough.
All pilots shall be sanctioned when which play sneaky and compromise the safety of a safe restart.
But it seems that F1 are not able to penalize those practice, especially if a pilot keep doing it on almost every race when the safety car is out.
What is it the reason which make blind the F1 race stewards? Isntructed to not take action In the name of the show? (it’s all about the money, isn’t it?).
How many times we have seen overtakes whith forsed other pilot to run out from track and was not sanctioned. on 2021 I loose count of how many times Max has play that “strategy”.
But the main culprit of this keep happening are not the pilots but is F1 race management to do nothing, not recall and sanctioning the pilots which play tricky on the very edge of rules.
What it need to F1 duty to manage the races? a deadly accident? waiting until a pilot die? or what count is just money money money!
So they are confirming that the ruling of the Stewards at Saudi Arabia that it was OK because there was ‘no lasting advantage’ should be overturned.
Maybe a review of all driving REGULATIONS or GUIDANCE, where does an excuse of ‘no lasting advantage’ appears and why?