Safety car ruins another great race

[howardscott]

When on earth are the FIA going to close the pit lane during the safety car session. All the hard work of drivers and teams is undone in an instant.

[Just_a_fan]

The pit lane used to be closed during safety cars. Other drivers got disadvantaged then instead. It's not a "open is rubbish, closed is great" or vice versa issue. Both systems have their problems.

[chrisc90]

When on earth are the FIA going to close the pit lane during the safety car session. All the hard work of drivers and teams is undone in an instant.

Disagree. Probably the best 10 laps we have seen all season.

Sometimes you lose out from a safety car, sometimes you gain. mercedes have gained so much from a SC previously (russel) Perez was lucky this time round given a free pitstop which he had to take anyhow.

Some times you lose out. Just the nature of racing. Same for everyone.

[cplchanb]

The pit lane used to be closed during safety cars. Other drivers got disadvantaged then instead. It's not a "open is rubbish, closed is great" or vice versa issue. Both systems have their problems.

Yup in the mid 2000s they closed them for this exact reason if drivers diving into the pit to gain an advantage. Back then the issue was some drivers were bingo fuel so they got a penalty for being for forced to pit in a closed pitlane.

Maybe now it would be something to consider that cars don't need to refuel anymore.

[LM10]

The real problem with SC is that the gaps disappear out of nothing. You’re the faster driver/car with many seconds ahead and then you find yourself in the middle of a fight after restart. Add the option of pitting for the car behind and we have a perfectly unfair situation and as a worst case scenario an unfair win. Yes, I really mean it, it’s simply unfair.

The fact Leclerc was denied not only a win but even a podium because of a SC today is just one example of many.

[Just_a_fan]

The real problem with SC is that the gaps disappear out of nothing. You’re the faster driver/car with many seconds ahead and then you find yourself in the middle of a fight after restart. Add the option of pitting for the car behind and we have a perfectly unfair situation and as a worst case scenario an unfair win. Yes, I really mean it, it’s simply unfair.

The fact Leclerc was denied not only a win but even a podium because of a SC today is just one example of many.

Generally speaking there's always someone that wins and someone that loses out in a SC situation. It doesn't get much bigger than the end of 2021, for example, where an entire season was determined by a single SC incident.

SCs aren't "fair" but I'm not sure anyone has come up with a fairer solution. Well, I did suggest that the slow zone concept could be employed but that was also shown to have issues.

[west52keep64]

Closing the pitlane just means it's those that pitted just before the SC that benefit. Other drivers can end up being left out on older tyres and are then forced to bit after the SC ends when the field has bunched up.

It is in my view just part of racing, and there isn't really a need to "fix" it. However, if you were trying to nullify the advantage that could be gained during an VSC or SC period, you could do one or many of the following:

• Introduce a minimum pitstop time for stops taken during a VSC or SC period. This would probably need to be calibrated for each circuit, but the idea is to nullify the advantage of pitting while cars are circulating slower. The cars are given a lap delta to hit during the VSC/SC so it would probably be quite easy to work out what the pit delta needs to be.
• During an SC specifically, drivers lose their advantage because they all bunch up behind the SC (or possibly have to do a standing start). You could record the interval between drivers at the end of the previous lap before the SC, and then add that to everyone's race time. For example, P2 is 6 seconds behind P1 when the SC is called, so they get 6 seconds added to their race time. Sure it seems "fair", but it would make for an awful spectacle after the restart as suddenly none of the on track battles really matter, drivers are basically racing the clock at this point, the driver in P2 could take the lead and still not win.
• As an alternative perhaps a staggered standing start could be used. Drivers all line up for a standing restart, but they each get their own start signal from the cockpit, timed based on the gap they had to the driver ahead when the SC came out. In the previous example, P1 goes first and then 6 seconds later P2 starts the race, and it continues down the grid until all cars are on their way. This is probably the only way to "restore" the race close to how it was before the SC came out, but it's probably still going to have it's issues as the starts will vary to a certain extent.

If you didn't like any of those ideas it's because they're all pretty rubbish really. It's not possible to "fix" the SC, it is what it is and it's part of racing. However, I do personally prefer the VSC as it means the race isn't completely reset, and I do wonder if it could have been used today for the Ocon incident. When they first implemented the VSC they used it a lot, but then it's almost as if they realised it doesn't create as much drama/jeopardy so they reverted to using the full SC.

[BlueCheetah66]

There is actually no perfect solution to fix this 'problem'. If anything, the current way of doing things is probably the best it can be. VSC fixes the problem of drivers work being undone to an extent, but for accidents where VSC is not appropriate, there is no real alternative to the Safety Car.

Another thing that people need to realise is, unless you have some religious or spiritual viewpoint on this, over the course of time, luck in most cases does level out.

[siskue2005]

It only hurts when ur team/driver is affected

[codetower]

I think it should stay open. And this coming from a guy who is a fan of the driver that got the short end of the stick today. to me the more frustrating are the gaps that disappear in an instant. To me this gives the drivers behind an unfair advantage. The pitstops are just part of the strategy, in my opinion.

[GrizzleBoy]

I think it should stay open. And this coming from a guy who is a fan of the driver that got the short end of the stick today. to me the more frustrating are the gaps that disappear in an instant. To me this gives the drivers behind an unfair advantage. The pitstops are just part of the strategy, in my opinion.

Pitstops are strategy yes.

Being in the right place at the right time whenever the FIA presses the SC button is just dumb luck.

[Wil992]

Yes, it’s pure luck if you gain/lose on an SC. But if you’ve spent the first half of the race building a gap behind, so you can pit and not lose many places, then an unlucky SC closes everyone up behind you, you have to pit after SC so you’re right at the back of the field.
So I’d say it equally possible to gain/lose whether the pit lane is open or closed, it’s just down to the exact timing of things.

[DChemTech]

Yes, it’s pure luck if you gain/lose on an SC. But if you’ve spent the first half of the race building a gap behind, so you can pit and not lose many places, then an unlucky SC closes everyone up behind you, you have to pit after SC so you’re right at the back of the field.
So I’d say it equally possible to gain/lose whether the pit lane is open or closed, it’s just down to the exact timing of things.

Exactly. Just imagine one coming out just after Leclerc pitted.

With the current regulations, that would have been an advantage for Hamilton - he would be in a good spot to win.
With a closed pitlane.. he'd have been lucky to end up in the points in that case.

[Just_a_fan]

Yes, it’s pure luck if you gain/lose on an SC. But if you’ve spent the first half of the race building a gap behind, so you can pit and not lose many places, then an unlucky SC closes everyone up behind you, you have to pit after SC so you’re right at the back of the field.
So I’d say it equally possible to gain/lose whether the pit lane is open or closed, it’s just down to the exact timing of things.

Exactly. Just imagine one coming out just after Leclerc pitted.

With the current regulations, that would have been an advantage for Hamilton - he would be in a good spot to win.
With a closed pitlane.. he'd have been lucky to end up in the points in that case.

That's the point - either situation benefits someone and hampers someone else. AD last year - a closed pit lane gives Lewis the title. An open pit lane gives Max the title. Yesterday, a closed pit lane gives Charles a fighting chance at the race win along with Lewis. As it happened, Carlos lucked in.

Generally, an open pit lane hinders the leader unless he's approaching the pit lane entry as the SC is called and can dive in and maintain his lead.

On balance, I think I prefer the open pit lane.

[kalinka]

Pitlane should be closed only while the safety car catches the leaders...then everybody can decide if it still pays off to pit. It can still disadvantage top runners, but not so much as now.