The day after a somewhat turbulent Qatar Grand Prix, the FIA found itself obliged to react. Or rather to justify itself, for several reasons. This Monday, the Federation published a press release in which it returns to different episodes, more or less important, of the race.
The main point obviously concerns that of the mirror of Alex Albon's Williams which came off in the middle of the straight before falling back onto the track. Certainly off the trajectory but in a gap zone to attempt an attack, the element visibly raised doubts within the race direction who were slow to react.
It was then necessary to wait for Valtteri Bottas to pulverize the part in question by driving over it and for the debris to cause two punctures, those of Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz, for the double yellow flag to turn into a Safety Car. A sequence that lasted several rounds.
« The usual procedure is that the Safety car is not deployed if there is little debris, and if it is outside the pathwe can read in the FIA press release.
Numerous debris after a car hit the rearview mirror, and punctures, forced the decision to deploy the safety car. » The Federation specifies that the virtual safety car could not have been “ a solution, because the cars were scattered and there was not enough time for a marshal to clear the debris. »
After this incident, the FIA has the ambition “ to analyze this specific case in more detail and will discuss with the teams to see if another way of acting should be chosen in the future. »
Norris penalty 'within guidelines'
In addition to this lack of reaction from the FIA, the loss of Alex Albon's mirror also resulted in a heavy penalty for Lando Norris. It was Max Verstappen who raised the problem on the radio, reporting that the Englishman had gained time while a double yellow flag was being waved in the area of the incident.
The infraction was first noted before the race management opened an investigation after which the McLaren driver was penalized: 10 seconds of Stop & Go. The worst penalty before a disqualification but completely logical according to the FIA.
« The penalty was in accordance with the penalty guidelines communicated to teams on February 19, 2024she explains. A double yellow flag offense is considered a serious compromise to safety, which is why these offenses carry such a severe penalty.. »
Regarding the malfunction of the Safety Car lights during its second appearance, the international motorsport watchdog clarified that “ all the teams were verbally warned that the safety car was coming, and the restart therefore took place normally. » A problem quickly identified and resolved by the operational team which was able to replace “ on time » the safety car for its third entry on the track.
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