FIA explains why race director did not neutralise race after yellow flag for debris · RaceFans

The FIA has explained why Formula 1’s race director did not suspend yesterday’s Qatar Grand Prix after warning drivers about debris on the track.

Double waved yellow flags were shown when Alexander Albon’s right-hand wing mirror fell off his car and landed near the pit exit at the approach to turn one. This led to one of the race’s most significant moments as second-placed Lando Norris received a 10-second stop-go time penalty for failing to slow in response to the flags.

The yellow flags were later withdrawn but the mirror was not removed. Shortly afterwards Valtteri Bottas hit the mirror, scattering more debris across the track. This, plus two drivers receiving punctures potentially due to the debris, finally led the race director to deploy the Safety Car.

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was among those who felt the situation was mishandled. “I think the right thing to do would have been a VSC or a Safety Car pretty much straight away,” he said.

“I didn’t really know where the mirror was, but after seeing it on the big screen, being basically in the braking zone for turn one when you’re trying to overtake, I don’t really know what we were going to do until someone hit it, because I think having it sit there for 30 laps of the race would have been not very smart.

“So I think, yes, probably it should have been a bit earlier because at racing speeds, especially in that part of the track, you can’t have a marshal run on and just simply pick it up. So maybe we could have been a bit quicker with that.”

FIA F1 race director Rui Marques had the option of using either a Safety Car or a Virtual Safety Car to enable marshals to safely recover the debris. However in a statement to media the FIA explained neither was considered suitable.

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“Normal practice is for the Safety Car not to be deployed if there is a small amount of debris and off the racing line,” it said. “The extensive debris after a car hit the mirror and the punctures that occurred shortly after forced the decision on a Safety Car.

When the yellow flags were first shown in response to the debris on lap 30 the leaders had already begun lapping tail-enders and the field was therefore quite evenly spread across the circuit. The largest gap between two consecutive cars was a window of just over 15 seconds between race leader Max Verstappen and Kevin Magnussen’s Haas ahead of him.

This gap would have increased under the reduced speeds drivers circulate at during a VSC period. However given the position of the debris the race director clearly believed that would be insufficient time for a marshal to reach it and return to safety in the time available. “A VSC would not have been a solution, as the cars remain spread out and there is not sufficient time for a marshal to clear the debris,” said the FIA.