Closed Pits?

The rule's fine as it is - the fact that Red Bull have been smarter & quicker to react to a SC deployment than everyone else may have something to do with Vettel usually being somewhere near the front anyway, and therefore ahead of any incidents and first to reach the pits afterwards.

I think Pirelli's idea to reduce the pit-lane speed limit is more pertinent anyway, as it'll be more of a penalty to pit an extra time.
 
How about having a speed limit through the affected sectors? For example with Hamilton's crash there could be a speed limit of 40 mph from Kemmel kink until Rivage. If cars are side-by-side then they must drop behind. Penalties should be strict for any offenders, the point would get across. This would cover most incidents, but red flags would still be needed in cases where debris is scattered across the circuit.
 
Actual SC rules a good, it's pretty complicated but it minimize the "luck" factor (the drivers can keep their gap before piting but they have to respect limited speed) and it eliminate the Briatore/Piquet/Alonso strategy!
 
I think perhaps the only way completly round the issues of pitting under the saftey Car is if you freeze the Race postions, and somehow find a way to sort postions out before the Safty car comes back in. Yup sounds like Madness lol.

My concerns are more todo with safety, The Pit mechanics are under a huge amount of pressure and the pit lane becomes very congested with cars and people. There seems to be more incidents happening thats putting peoples at aftey at risk, and when a wheel comes lose going down the pitlane to two cars collide it does make my gut wrench. But at the smae time the penalty of coming into the pits after the safety car is Huge.

Don't think theres a real right or wrong awnser here on this one, Think somebodys going to be a loser whatever rules are in place.
 
How about the laps under the safety car don't count towards the race result but come off the laps raced? I know it would be very confusing for spectators, viewers and commentators as you would have to add together race times - remember poor old Muddly in Japan '94 or whenever it was. It would be like a red flag but without all the hassle.
 
Well arguably the fairest solution would be for all cars to slow to a pre-set maximum speed as soon as instructed to do so and file in to the pits as they approach them.
There they can change tyres and switch off engines until they are instructed that the SC will be in on the next lap.
Then once the 'SC' is called in, they leave the pits, maintaining the gap to the car behind, just prior to the incident.

I'm not sure that is necessarily the best solution though.
 
Am I the only person who loved the red-flag restart and aggregate times approach? I remember finding it really exciting as a kid, and it gave drivers another shot at first corner mayhem...
 
How about the laps under the safety car don't count towards the race result but come off the laps raced? I know it would be very confusing for spectators, viewers and commentators as you would have to add together race times - remember poor old Muddly in Japan '94 or whenever it was. It would be like a red flag but without all the hassle.

I think WTCC has a part of that rule - the race can be extended by two laps for each SC.

However, the no-refuelling rule might cause a problem, although the cars use less fuel behind the SC.
For the closed pits, I don't see it very necessary. After current rule was adopted, I think only chaotic issue for the race order was in Valencia 2010 where the Ferraris lost much time as they stuck behind SC while not being leading cars.
 
How about having a speed limit through the affected sectors? For example with Hamilton's crash there could be a speed limit of 40 mph from Kemmel kink until Rivage. If cars are side-by-side then they must drop behind. Penalties should be strict for any offenders, the point would get across. This would cover most incidents, but red flags would still be needed in cases where debris is scattered across the circuit.

There is one in the form of a delta time which is displayed on each driver's screen by the FIA ECU when the SC is deployed. All drivers must stay above this minimum delta time to prevent anyone from gaining an advantage and the rules were clarified after the Alonso/Hamilton incident at Valencia (I think) last year. I'm surprised no one has mentioned this. The rules are fine and fairer than in their previous form. The fact that we haven't heard many complaints SC's deployment in recent times suggests that the teams are generally content. Redbull have just been very fortunate and let's not forget Jenson also benefitted greatly from the it at Spa.
 
How about the laps under the safety car don't count towards the race result but come off the laps raced? I know it would be very confusing for spectators, viewers and commentators as you would have to add together race times - remember poor old Muddly in Japan '94 or whenever it was. It would be like a red flag but without all the hassle.

It won't have any effect unless it is at the end of a race, for me the only concern with the safety car rules at present, is that it is by and large a freebie being dangled out there. If you ignore it, you sacrifice performance and a lot of time knowing that a) you have to maximise the life left in the tyres b) the opponants are close to you and any gap was negated and c) you have to pit when they don't. We have seen that drivers 10th or worse are able to all of a sudden jump into the top 10 and better positions, because those that were there pit in and can't get position back, it is to much of a pot luck system that benefits some a lot and severely punishes others for faults not their own.

EG: Montreal, Button collides with Hamilton, there is no immediate safety car, but Button has a flat tyre, he is now in last and quite comfortably so, by the fact he has to nurse the car around the track, Hamilton parks up well down the track and in a position which brings out the safety car, saves button who pits, and gets a tyre change in the process, he catches up,...the others pit and Button goes from well in last possibly contemplating retirement....to like 10th under the safety car, which he contributed to? if the safety car comes out, he can pit but can only be released after the safety car passes again...effectively maintaining the +1 lap deficit.
 
You miss understand Sarinade, the racing laps and the time on track are measured up to when the safety car comes out, the laps under the safety car are discounted and the overall times are aggregated for racing laps only. So, in your scenario, Button pits under the SC but as he crosses the timing beam in the pit lane he is, say, 1 minute behind the leader. Hecomes out into the snake in, say, 12th place physically 15 seconds behind the lead car but as the laps under the SC don't count he is actually 1 min 15 secs behind the leader. This means that Button not only has to finish ahead of the lead car but he must be 1min 15secs ahead of the lead car to win. I should point out that I'm not just singling out JB, simply using Sarinade's scenario.

Hope that all makes sense...
 
... And what about the driver who pitted the lap before the safety car was deployed.... Essentially, he'd get a free pit-stop through luck here! It's 6 of one and half a dozen of the other!
 
EG: Montreal, Button collides with Hamilton, there is no immediate safety car, but Button has a flat tyre, he is now in last and quite comfortably so, by the fact he has to nurse the car around the track, Hamilton parks up well down the track and in a position which brings out the safety car, saves button who pits, and gets a tyre change in the process, he catches up,...the others pit and Button goes from well in last possibly contemplating retirement....to like 10th under the safety car, which he contributed to? if the safety car comes out, he can pit but can only be released after the safety car passes again...effectively maintaining the +1 lap deficit.

I had wondered why Hamilton parked right next to a gap in the barriers at Montreal, and could have easily prevented the safety car. It suddenly all makes sense!
 
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