Gary Anderson calls for detailed rule analysis

Gary Anderson, former racing car designer and now The Race pundit, is calling on the FIA ​​and Formula 1 to seriously review the current rules, which he believes are incorrect, and reconsider their practice.

The FIA ​​is doing the right thing by “initiating a detailed investigation into the events that took place during the evacuation of cars from the circuit during the Japanese Grand Prix.” It should be, because safety comes first. But a much broader critique is needed.

This study should not only include the specific circumstances of a safety car on the track, after which the race was stopped by red flags; not just a situation of uncertainty, where it was not clear how and how many points were awarded – every aspect of the Formula 1 rules, their structure and how race management applies them must be analysed.

Of course there were attempts to do this after what happened in Spa last year because of the weather, and also after the situation at the last round of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Although some adjustments have been made, this work should continue.

Too many mistakes are allowed during the weekend. This applies to how practices, qualifications and races are controlled, how weather conditions are assessed, how race directors react to them, how fines are imposed, how a virtual safety car (VSC) mode is introduced or a safety car is released on the track. , how are red flags applied – it seems that every weekend in general all the rules are applied in a new way.

Sometimes it seems that the management of the races is coming up with them. Think of last year’s farce at Spa, the start of the race in Monaco this year, or even the delayed start in Singapore last week when it was unclear how race time was kept.

There was much talk in Suzuka about the situation with Pierre Gasly and the tow truck that went out to retrieve Carlos Sainz’s wrecked car. Nobody wants to end up with a race car colliding with a similar vehicle – that’s exactly what happened to Jules Bianchi at the same track in 2014, and it all ended tragically.

Cars go off track for some reason. In Sainz’s case it was aquaplaning respectively, there was a possibility that this phenomenon could reoccur on that part of the route. It’s very understandable why Gasly got so mad, and so did the other riders.

He probably drove too fast. But since his car had tires for heavy rain and he kept to the time difference given to him (in fact this speed limit is set by the FIA), there was nothing wrong with his actions. He was fined for speeding under red flags, and the stewards separately emphasized that this happened after Pierre drove past the tow truck.

Gasly is a racer and his job is to show the highest possible result. If riders are allowed to determine how much to slow down without setting a clear limit, they will go as fast as they see fit in the circumstances. In this situation, a speed limit was introduced and Pierre did not violate it.

When he left the pitlane, he was 39 seconds away from the peloton that had gathered behind the safety car. By the time Gasly reached Turn 13, he had narrowed the gap to about 30 seconds, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly. Therefore, the speed at which he approached was not so fast.

When an accident occurs, such as Sainz’s, you should immediately go into VSC mode, regardless of the weather conditions. Then all racers must immediately slow down to a certain level, and this stabilizes the location of the cars on the track, and the race director has some time to decide how to proceed, is it possible to safely evacuate damaged equipment, is it necessary to release safety car or stop the race with red flags.

Drivers and teams also need to know exactly what to expect. In rainy conditions and poor visibility, you don’t expect a large tow truck with a crane on the track.

Until VSC mode is activated for the entire lap, there must be no vehicles on the track other than a safety car or a medical vehicle, and no vehicles may drive in the opposite direction of the race cars’ movement.

I’m very curious who exactly is responsible for pushing the button, after which the marshals are allowed to proceed with the evacuation of the damaged car or just go to the track. I don’t mean a specific name and I’m not going to blame anyone – I just want to know what position this person holds. Or at least someone orders him to press this button.

Now let’s talk about the scoring situation. Obviously the intention was to introduce a rule for awarding fewer points, but the wording there is such that this rule only applies to a situation where the race is interrupted and cannot be resumed.

It turns out that if the race started and the red flags were posted immediately, it is enough to drive a single lap before the three-hour period expires, and this already allows you to collect the full number of points. But this is a farce, and completely contrary to the original intention to find a solution after the confusion that reigned at the Spa last year.

In general, this paragraph of the regulations is worded incorrectly and does not correspond to the intentions guided by the FIA ​​at the time. Looks like it will be corrected soon which is good. But that’s why I’m suggesting a bigger revision of the rules, because it’s possible that there are other similar clauses in there.

Since last year there have been major problems due to incorrect application of the rules or ignoring them, some individual measures are not enough. Formula 1 is a top sport and must be managed accordingly. Meanwhile, things are getting worse in this area.

But there are also other problems. The question of the lane’s limits has long been debated: is the white line itself part of the lane or not? It seems that sometimes they think that way, sometimes that way, so riders and teams are still complaining about inconsistency in the application of the rules.

The same goes for fines. Charles Leclerc, when he cut through the chicane yesterday and did not relinquish his position, was handed a fair fine – in fact he went off the track, restricted by the white line, but there were cases where riders were not penalized for such violations, especially if the weather conditions were difficult.

All this is important, because the most important thing in any sport is the rules. It is of course based on the league itself, but if there is no stability and no good leadership, all this undermines the confidence of the fans. And if there’s no end to it, there’s a risk that they’ll just stop watching.

We constantly hear about the growth in viewing figures, but Formula 1 has to be careful that it doesn’t become a circus.