Ask The Apex
- Thread starter Galahad
- Start date
Why do we even need a safety car at all? The cars are told to drive to a certain time and if there is significant danger on the track then the red flag is called. I would keep a safety car at the circuit just in case of radio failure but it's not necessary anymore.
What's the purpose of a Safety Car when you're allowed to "race" home under those condition? Ant just clearly showed that Seb (and Mark) raced back to line to steal positions after being released by the SC. Lewis was CRAWLING in that part of the track.
The ouverture from Carmen.
Edit.
I'm a sophisticated fellow aren't I....
Edit.
I'm a sophisticated fellow aren't I....
Another question:
Back in the late 90s and early 00s, I remember the team pits for some races would be different. I remember Ferrari used to be at the start of the pitlane, then at the end for the next race, this used to vary from race to race.
Why don't they do that anymore, and what was the advantage of either side of the pitlane?
PS. I've always wanted to ask this question on this thread but always forget.
Back in the late 90s and early 00s, I remember the team pits for some races would be different. I remember Ferrari used to be at the start of the pitlane, then at the end for the next race, this used to vary from race to race.
Why don't they do that anymore, and what was the advantage of either side of the pitlane?
PS. I've always wanted to ask this question on this thread but always forget.
The team that wins the WCC gets it's pick of which garage it wants to use at every race they will usually chose the first or last garage depending on track and pit lane layout and speed limit...
This is still true today...
Edit
The rest of the garages are allocated to the teams but the team that came last in the championship will always get the smallest garage space, this applied to McLaren In 2009 due to them being stripped of all constructors points the year before...
This is still true today...
Edit
The rest of the garages are allocated to the teams but the team that came last in the championship will always get the smallest garage space, this applied to McLaren In 2009 due to them being stripped of all constructors points the year before...
I believe it is still true today I didn't hear of the rule changing and haven't taken much notice of which garage RedBull have been using for the last 3 and a bit years...
Bleu
Podium Finisher
There has been three different rules regarding restarts (happening after 2+ laps)
* For a long time there were two parts, with times being aggregated. This was maybe too confusing for the spectators, as two drivers may be "battling" for the lead, but the driver behind is actually five seconds ahead. Although there were kind of time trial ending to Japanese GP 1994 between Hill and Schumacher. The restart was standing with an exception of Japan 1994.
* For a few years (in F1, only used in Belgium 2001), the original race gave the starting grid, there was a standing start and the 2nd part gave the official result.
* For last few years, it has been SC start. Also within that change, the race timing system doesn't stop.
With the system in the middle, I wonder if there was a loophole to be found. A driver who had "retired" early in the race by pulling into the pits. With the race being stopped, the car gets repaired and driver lines up for the new start and possibly gets the good results while running much less laps than the others? It affects similar way to a drivers who were lapped at the time of red flag, despite not that much.
The weird thing is that they could actually use aggregate timing with the modern systems and people would be able to know what was going on. When they used aggregate for the 1982 Detroit GP, and the timing screens were like 2 laps behind, Murray Walker, and I'm sure millions of viewers, were rather confused at what was unfolding before them.
Fenderman
Rooters Reporter
Thinking about the pro's and con's with any of the options, a restart under the safety car is probably the best for F1.
A lot of time and continuity is lost whilst whatever caused the race to be stopped is cleared up. With the runners in track positions held before the red flag the warm up lap flows immediately into the restarted race . The main issue for drivers in that situation is warming up the tyres and brakes.
Restarting from any kind of standing start will add five or so minutes to an already delayed procedure and as well as having to deal with tyre and brake temperature issues there may be issues arising from heat soak in the engines with increased risk of clutch and gearbox failures. In the past, it was not unusual for standing start "restarts" to lead to accidents on the grid due to stalled cars. I suspect those issues would be magnified for any car and driver waiting for the requisite gap to be counted down under a timed release system as used in rallying or the IOM TT.
In answer to Brogan's original question I imagine the reason for the current process is primarily the safety issue of the increased risk of car failures on the grid and the likelihood of ensuing carnage when the lights have gone light.
A lot of time and continuity is lost whilst whatever caused the race to be stopped is cleared up. With the runners in track positions held before the red flag the warm up lap flows immediately into the restarted race . The main issue for drivers in that situation is warming up the tyres and brakes.
Restarting from any kind of standing start will add five or so minutes to an already delayed procedure and as well as having to deal with tyre and brake temperature issues there may be issues arising from heat soak in the engines with increased risk of clutch and gearbox failures. In the past, it was not unusual for standing start "restarts" to lead to accidents on the grid due to stalled cars. I suspect those issues would be magnified for any car and driver waiting for the requisite gap to be counted down under a timed release system as used in rallying or the IOM TT.
In answer to Brogan's original question I imagine the reason for the current process is primarily the safety issue of the increased risk of car failures on the grid and the likelihood of ensuing carnage when the lights have gone light.
I enjoy a one-lap SC after red flag more than 10 laps of SC, 5 of which so Giedo van der Garde can pass the bloody field, come to think of it!
Also with a warm up lap getting brake temperatures back up the chances of accidents immediately after the restart are minimised too. I remember a race at Monza quite a few years ago when there was a red flag followed by another accident at the same corner on the restart.
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