Safety car rules are ridiculous

[Tom]

Giancarlo must have seen the light because he overtook Kubica who had stopped for it, I think the team saw it the same way too, hearing their radio message to him, they weren't best pleased. I kind of like the new rules, they add a bit of drama to a race which is often lacking. At the end of the day a red light means stop and if you 'didn't see' a red light on the road the result could quite easily be fatal, no excuse for missing it, and don't say its too hard to see because Robert managed.

Alonso was very unlucky there but thats the way the rules work, at the end of the day Mclaren were penalised for choosing the wrong stratergy and Alonso is part of Mclaren.

[DaveKillens]

When four out of twenty two drivers receive Draconian penalties for events related to the safety car, there's something screwy going on. Definitely a lack of understanding between the teams/drivers and the officials who run the event. (Charlie Whiting and Company)
Now, for the two who ran the red light, my interpretation is that they just screwed up, passed a red light at the pit exit...... the drivers weren't watching, their teams weren't doing a very good job of controlling them, and the FIA just didn't have a bright enough and big enough red light.
Alonso and Rosberg got flat out pooched, they just had to pit, and NOW. What do you do when everything is on plan, a driver prepares to enter the pits, the safety car comes out, and they have one of two options... stay out and run out of gas somewhere on course, or pit, and receive a too-harsh penalty for an offence that really isn't real? Either way a good day suddenly becomes crap for no fault of your own in any way. The rules are supposed to punish infractions or wrongdoings. They did nothing wrong, apart from the sin of having low fuel.
I was entertained by all the safety cars in the race, and I was dumbfounded when I learned of Massa's and Fisi's black flag(s). But I was irate for Alonso and Rosberg, receiving a penalty they did not deserve.

[zac510]

There were definitely some strategic failures by the teams yesterday.
It seems they hadn't properly prepared plans for safety car deployment.

I think it would be good if somebody could paste the proper safety car rule text into this or another thread. There seems to be a lot of misinformation or guessing as to how they are actually deployed this year.

[Spencifer_Murphy]

I liked the idea that lapped cars can pass the safetly car after a while, it means that a drivers race isn't ruined by backmarkers that otherwise wouldn't have been there (back markers caused by normal racing speed - or lack thereof I don't mind, I'm still of the believe passing backmarkers is an important driver skill).

But the no pitting rule is obsurd. Why should drivers like FA & NR get penalised for pitting due to a lack of fuel. Its a catch 22, they pit and get penalised, or the dont pit and are forced to retire. Its another stupid rule that the FIA have once again not thought out fully.

[pRo]

But the no pitting rule is obsurd. Why should drivers like FA & NR get penalised for pitting due to a lack of fuel. Its a catch 22, they pit and get penalised, or the dont pit and are forced to retire. Its another stupid rule that the FIA have once again not thought out fully.

I agree and I don't like the rule either.

But it is the same rule for everyone. The pitlane is closed for what, 2-3 laps after the SC? Maybe the teams should take cars in for fueling 2-3 laps before they run out of fuel? Or take a risk and leave it to the final lap. Isn't that what they do in other series, where this has been common practice for some time?

[millerjam]

Don't they have a similar rule in Champ Car? I think it's something like no one can pit during the first lap the safety car is out, then the cars on the lead lap can pit, followed by the cars on a lap down the next lap etc etc, but they don't seem to experience the same problems as F1 experienced yesterday. Does anyone know why?

I think though on the whole the chaps on the podium pretty much deserved to be there. There definitely wasn't much luck involved with where Hamilton and Heidfeld finished, they were pretty much the only people who kept the car on the track yesterday and they were quick, and I'm never going to begrudge Alex Wurz a position on the podium, I thought he had a cracking drive to hold everybody off in the last few laps.

As for Massa and Fisi, well you can't drive through a red light, end of story...

[hatchet man]

Massa and Fisi deserved their penalty, red light means stop. Whether the pit lane exit should have been closed is another story. The drivers should be smart enough to know that crashing into the train coming out of the pits would not be good for their careers or pocket book.

I believe that preventing drivers to round the track at unregulated speeds during a SC period is a good thing. However, perhaps they can set a speed limit for the drivers for SC periods. A driver would have to limit their speed for the affected sector but could otherwise speed up to either catch the train or reach the pits. I know this solution has many holes but some iteration of it could work and the pit lane could stay open.

[zac510]

How about it was fine how it was last year?

[Tom]

Re Champcar, I remember reading that Zanardi had been caught out by that exact rule, same situation and I think he still managed to win. It was better last year though.

[nae]

driving through a red light would have invoked a black flag last year too.

for what ever reason, there may have been a bmw employee or religious nutter on the track. the stewards decided the pit lane exit was closed. end off

as to the craziness of the rule that guided the stewards well who can say. it is certainly unfair to punish a driver when they 'had' to stop for fuel (or at least where in a range where the could at least claim that) but 'safety' is max's trump card so expect a mandatory 3 laps of fuel to be carried in all cars to avoid the issue in the future. (iirc it happened in the bttc a few years back when teams had to have enough fuel to got up to 5 laps extra under SC conditions)

[Rob W]

How is this for an idea to improve the current rule?

Retain the current safety car rule but make each team provide the race HQ with their scheduled pit laps just before the race (ten mins perhaps). If the safety car is out and you were due to pit then you can pit without penalty... IF the team decides to change their strategy during the race and deviate from the submitted "pit laps" list then they take the gamble.

Alonso and ?? were hard-done by - their alternative would be to run out of gas on track.

Massa and Fisi - no excuse. All F1 drivers know the pit-light rules as part of their licensing process. Their race crew should have alerted them anyway.

Rob W

[bizadfar]

But the no pitting rule is obsurd. Why should drivers like FA & NR get penalised for pitting due to a lack of fuel. Its a catch 22, they pit and get penalised, or the dont pit and are forced to retire. Its another stupid rule that the FIA have once again not thought out fully.

I agree and I don't like the rule either.

But it is the same rule for everyone. The pitlane is closed for what, 2-3 laps after the SC? Maybe the teams should take cars in for fueling 2-3 laps before they run out of fuel? Or take a risk and leave it to the final lap. Isn't that what they do in other series, where this has been common practice for some time?

3 laps is about 8kilos. I don't know, if they want to find that critical 2-3 tenths per lap to jump in front of someone after their stops. Maybe FIA should introduce a reserve tank which is controlled?

I see this rule by FIA as : Ok we suck at making overtaking on track better, let's just randomize SC situations with the slower cars mixed with faster cars effectively stuffing it up for drivers (or making it better for some that shouldnt be there - depends how you see it) and answering critics about the lack of action

IMO the wrong way to go about it. Why hasn't Max been assassinated yet?