Drivers admit ‘conflicting views’ over potential safety car finish changes
The Silverstone race ended behind the safety car.
Both George Russell and Carlos Sainz were hesitant to suggest F1 rules should be changed to prevent finishing behind a safety car following the British Grand Prix.
The race at Silverstone looked set for a grandstand finish when the safety car was reported to be coming in at the end of the penultimate lap but it actually ended in a damp squib with Bernd Maylander not breaking away from the pack until metres before the finish line.
George Russell and Carlos Sainz give verdict on safety car finishes
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A software error was blamed for the erroneous message, but the race ending behind the safety car sparked a debate over whether F1 should change its rules in order to ensure a grand prix always ends in racing conditions.
To do that, the most likely solution would be a red flag, although F1 cars are fuelled for a set race distance. But Russell, who is a director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, was hesitant to suggest a change was needed.
“I’ve got conflicting views,” he said to media including PlanetF1.com in Spa. “Is it fair for a driver who’s got a 20-second gap to then have a red flag and the race neutralised with three laps remaining? He’s done that well.
“I think if there’s 25% of the race remaining, or you know, 30% of the race remaining, and there’s a red flag, you can kind of maybe accept it. But if there’s three laps to go, and there’s a red flag, similar to Melbourne, I think 2023.
“Equally, do I like a race finishing under a safety car? No. But you know, when was the last time? Was it Abu Dhabi ’21?
“I’d love to finish the race and have that great big climax but if there was no incident, there would be no climax anyway in those final stages of the race, so it’s just a bit of a niche. No major conversations as yet.”
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Sainz, who is also a director of the GPDA, suggested FOM may look for a change as they “care more about the show.”
“I think racing finishes are always welcome,” he said. “I think there’s cases where coincidentally there’s a safety car in the last lap or two laps to go. You cannot change the outcome of a race just because there’s bad luck that the safety car came two laps to go.
“It is true that it came with five or six laps to go, and we tried to restart it, and it never happened. That’s why the regulations need to maybe favour the restart of the race in a better way, but I’m sure FIA and especially FOM that care more about the show are looking into it and they can find a solution.
“But I don’t think it’s this case where it happens once every two years, and then you analyse the case. You try and improve the regulation to fit for it. I’m not too worried.”
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