F1 News
Is speed of safety car a problem? "Verstappen was just next to it"
- GPblog.com
Last weekend was a race weekend without a race. At Spa, the weather was so bad that the FIA decided after five hours of waiting to do two compulsory laps behind the safety car and thus finish the race in writing.
Not many people were happy about this, despite the dangers thanks to the weather. In the Slipstream RTL GP podcast, Kees van de Grint says he sees a point of interest. The safety car would not be fast enough. On top of that, he doesn't think there is any reason for panic at this point.
"This was of course a bigger debacle than 2005 at Indy because there were still a few cars left. But I don't think you should immediately introduce new rules. It would be a point to think about. Because it was clear that that car (safety car) was too slow. Much too slow.
Safety car not fast enough
According to van de Grint, this was clearly visible at a few moments last weekend.
"You also saw a number of times that Max just came alongside. And I don't quite understand why that car has to drive, because you have so many lights now and the race director can determine that. And if those lights would have indicated what the drivers should do, it would have been more convenient. And yes, then the field will fall further apart because the leader of the field will go faster than the car at the back. But anyway: at least in these circumstances we would have just had a race."
The events of last weekend will surely be a reason to adjust some rules. Whether these changes will also affect the safety car, however, remains to be seen.