Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc and Mercedes’ George Russell were engaged in a hilarious bit of banter regarding the Mercedes Safety Car, as they took part in a press conference at the end of the 2022 Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.
The Safety Car took to the track two times during the third round of the 2022 Formula One season, as a result of incidents for Carlos Sainz on lap three and then Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel later in the race, with Bernd Maylander continuing his impressive 22-year career as driver of the Mercedes and Aston Martin caution vehicles. Yet he was put under some pressure by Red Bull Racing Dutch driver Max Verstappen, who felt that the Aston Martin car was driving too slow at the Albert Park Circuit, describing it as a “Turtle,” apt due to its green livery, while Ferrari junior Mick Schumacher came close to hitting the AlphaTauri of Yuki Tsunoda on the home straight due to the pace behind the Safety Car.
On the other hand, Chrales Leclerc admitted at the end of the Australian event that Bernd Maylander was pushing as hard as possible in order to keep an optimal speed taking into consideration the big difference between a road car and a Formula 1 car, and the German appreciated this.
“Of course it’s nice that Charles saw that I was absolutely at the limit. That’s all I could do,” he admitted.
Regarding Mick Schumacher’s incident with Yuki Tsunoda, the stewards believe that a meeting is needed in order to discuss procedures about how drive weave and brake in an attempt to maintain temperatures while running behind the Safety Car: “The stewards find no driver guilty of breaching the regulation, however it is clear the speed and braking capabilities of F1 cars, especially while trying to maintain required temperatures in tyres and brakes, are in tension with the 10-car-length separation behind the Safety Car traditionally specified in the regulations,” they added – “This needs to be a point of emphasis in future driver briefings, to ensure the drivers collectively agree on how best to address this challenge before an unfortunate incident occurs.”
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George Russell later suggested that the Mercedes is significantly quicker than the Aston Martin, prompting an amusing dig from the Monegasque driver because of the current pace advantage Scuderia Ferrari have over Mercedes in this start of the 2022 Formula One season: “The Mercedes Safety Car is five seconds faster than the Aston Martin Safety Car,” George Russell said in the press conference which took place after the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.
“Let’s put a Ferrari Safety Car, then it will be five seconds faster than a Mercedes,” was Charles Leclerc’s fast and savage reply.
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