Was the Monaco GP restart in contradiction of the rules?

Brogan

Legend
Staff Member
Something that's been bothering me for a while and I meant to post about it sooner.

Was the race restarted in contradiction to the current rules?

As I understand it, if there's a red flag in the first 2 laps, the race is restarted for the full distance, as if it never happened.
If there's a red flag before 75% of the race has been completed, the race is restarted from where it left off.
If there's a red flag with more than 75% of the race run, it is declared and not restarted.

So why was the Monaco GP restarted with just 6 laps to go, considering over 90% of the race had been run?

It's my opinion that it would have been bad the "the show" for the race to finish as it did, especially at Monaco of all places.
We saw last year how they cynically pulled the safety car in on the last corner, just so the drivers could cross the start/finish line at speed to simulate the appearance of a racing finish.

Did the same thing happen on Sunday?
 
I believe that's exactly what happened. I also think it's why the Stewards decision on the Maldonado/Hamilton crash was a token gesture designed to appease rather than face the difficulty of explaining their position. I further believe that they failed on both fronts.:(

Edit: I'm wrong on point one as revealed by Chad but I stand by point two.
 
It was unfortunate circumstances, if the race was abandoned everyone would have complained about something, especially the teams of all people.

I think re-running it was the right option, we saw some more action, and we have less teams and fans saying "could've would've should've" because the race restarted.

Contradiction in the rules? Yes, to be honest, there always will be...
 
I must admit that at the time of the Petrov / Algersuari crash I assumed it would be 'Race over' with full points awarded. I even remember thinking that it would be good for Hamilton, as he would still get some points rather than a black and orange flag. So I was surprised to hear the announcement of a re-start.

Are we sure that it's not just that the rules allow for the option of either declaring the race and awarding full points, or restarting it?
If it is found that the re-start was against the rules could they nullify it and declare the result at the point of the red flag? And if they did, would it change anything?
 
Another sign of the progression of F1 from sport to show business

Does anyone imagine the Turkey or China race would be restarted after 90%?

I am sure the transition of wrestling from sport to WWF slapstick show was guided by similar thinking

If the rules do not allow for restarts then surely the FIA could be sued by a ticket paying member of the audience? I guess the rules would recommend that starts are not made after 70% to allow this type of tinkering
 
I must admit that at the time of the Petrov / Algersuari crash I assumed it would be 'Race over' with full points awarded. I even remember thinking that it would be good for Hamilton, as he would still get some points rather than a black and orange flag. So I was surprised to hear the announcement of a re-start.

Are we sure that it's not just that the rules allow for the option of either declaring the race and awarding full points, or restarting it?
If it is found that the re-start was against the rules could they nullify it and declare the result at the point of the red flag? And if they did, would it change anything?

It would change quite a lot of things, Maldonado for one would get his first ever points, Kobayashi would have finished 4th.

This is a very good point, because if it a contradiction in the rules, wouldn't the teams be protesting right now? Or asking for clarification?
 
6.5 If a race is suspended under Article 41, and cannot be resumed, no points will be awarded if the leader has
completed less than two laps, half points will be awarded if the leader has completed more than two laps
but less than 75% of the original race distance and full points will be awarded if the leader has completed
more than 75% of the original race distance.
In other words, if the race is capable of being resumed it doesn't matter whether 75% of the distance has been covered or not. I guess that the decision as to whether or not to restart is at the discretion of Race Control.
 
I need to check the reg's to be certain.

I always thought it was declared after 75% distance though.
 
On a similar theme can someone clarify something please. What happened to aggregate times with a red flag situation? In 1994 Japan where the race stopped because of rain it restarted with the gaps between drivers remaining. I'm assuming the rules changed but unsure as to why/when.
 
I'm assuming the rules changed but unsure as to why/when.
That was actually the last race where aggregate times were used.
The rules were changed after that to make it effectively a new race on a restart.

The 2001 Belgian GP was the first race to be affected by the new rule.
 
That was actually the last race where aggregate times were used.
The rules were changed after that to make it effectively a new race on a restart.

Ahh ok thanks for that. Its the only time I have ever known it used (I only started watching F1 around that time) . I actually thought it made for quite an interesting race, except it basically became a time trial.
 
Ahh ok thanks for that. Its the only time I have ever known it used (I only started watching F1 around that time) . I actually thought it made for quite an interesting race, except it basically became a time trial.
You should count yourself lucky you weren't around when qualifying was aggregated over two sessions, one on the Friday and one on the Saturday.:dizzy:
 
I think that's only if they pass the 2 hour time limit, or if they really have to abandon the race.

I'm a bit confused about the 2 hour time limit to be honest because I was expecting the race to be called off after the red flag not because there were only a few laps left but because by the time they were ready to restart it was more than two hours after the race started? From memory I think they got going again at 15:04 or thereabouts UK time, and the race started at 13:00?
 
For me, I'm not too fussed about it restarting after 75% of the race is complete. What gets my goat is the teams being allowed to work on the cars on the grid. That made no sense to me at all and I hope that particular issue is dealt with in the future. It skewed the results to an unacceptable degre and spoilt what had been a very good race.
 
That's permitted as it's no different to a normal start, where the teams are allowed to work on the cars up to the 15 second point.
 
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