After the difficult conditions that led to the postponement of the Singapore and Japanese Grand Prix due to violent downpours, the Formula 1 drivers are convinced that a better solution can be found to resume activities on the track as soon as it is sufficiently safe.
They believe that using the safety car to assess the water level on the track is far from ideal, as its performance and the amount of spray it emits are not comparable to that of a Formula One car.
This can cause unnecessary delays in the restart of a Grand Prix, but also give fans and TV commentators the wrong impression that conditions appear better than real. Following discussions among the members of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA) in the wake of the events in Singapore and Japan, the idea of introducing a new “informative laps” procedure emerged.
This would allow Formula 1 cars to drive a few laps – alone or behind a safety car – at certain time periods during rain delays. Race control could thus receive direct feedback from the drivers during and after these laps, to better judge whether the race is safe or not. GPDA president Alexander Wurz believes these “informative laps” would be an extremely valuable tool for providing the FIA with better information on track conditions and for clarifying to the public whether or not it is too dangerous to resume the race.
“The race director should have the opportunity to do what I call informative laps,” Alexander Wurz told Motorsport in an exclusive interview – “He could say, if the teams agree with this procedure, that in 10 minutes we will send the cars around, as if it were a lap on the grid. On this lap, all the drivers will see what the conditions are like. We could have 20 opinions of the 20 drivers who have risked their lives. And so the FIA could make a much more informed decision on the part of the drivers.”
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Alexander Wurz believes these extra laps would also be extremely beneficial for the stewards, as they would help them understand if the visibility is good enough to allow them to operate safely. It is also better for race control, because they will know if they can see the next position,” said the former F1 driver – “If you can’t see the next checkpoint, you shouldn’t drive because you wouldn’t see an accident in this white cloud of fog. So, with these informative laps, the stewards can also inform us about the conditions. The race director will have a more informed picture and all the millions of viewers around the world will be able to see with their own eyes what the situation is like.”
Alexander Wurz believes that fans often get the wrong impression of bad conditions when observing the safety car, which sprays less water than F1 cars, running on its own during rain delays.
This was evidenced in the Japanese GP, when the splashes from the safety car were so small compared to when the races started.
“When you see the safety car drive on its own, with a few sprays, and the driver has fun going over curbs and controlling the drift, it’s completely, totally different than when you can just throw the 20 cars out of the blue. This is the delta “.
He explained that the idea of these extra laps came from hearing Lewis Hamilton talk about the conditions during the delays in Japan: “The idea came when Lewis said he can tell you in a minute [what the conditions are] just by driving out there: he can’t tell you if he’s watching TV,” he said. “I thought: ‘My God, he is completely right’. But this requires a change of rules and procedure. And this has to be made available very quickly to race control.”
FIA discussions
The idea of ”informative laps” has so far only been discussed within the GPDA, but is likely to be presented to the FIA during discussions in Austin, based on the events of recent races.
Alexander Wurz said the Japan experience has accelerated a push within the GPDA to make things better for racing in the wet: “We are all definitely in agreement in finding a solution, because we are here for our safety, for our sport and for our fans,” said the Austrian – “We just want to make sure that our fans understand and don’t suddenly think we’re all soft. It’s not about being labeled as crazy. We have to look for safety. But if you realize we don’t see the other cars, then it’s much easier to stick to the delay decision. From the chats we had during the race, during the red flag and after, I know that Japan reminded us that when the weather is gray, and the background is gray, and there are no bright advertisements on the sides, you suddenly don’t know where you are”.
“Nobody could see Carlos [Sainz] stuck in the corner and this is a clear reminder of a danger, as happened in Spa with Anthoine [Hubert] when you have a T-bone situation. This [impact] is not what it is for. which the cars were designed and could never be built, to be honest. “
While the move to “informative laps” would require new rules and detailed discussions on how to implement them in terms of race fuel consumption and counted laps, Wurz believes these issues can be resolved: “We should define the race distances, the fuel load and so on, but I think we can find a solution because it would be useful.”
Alexander Wurz also believes that Formula 1 could use high-tech solutions to improve visibility decisions: “You could use visibility sensors, and that way it wouldn’t be a human decision, but a quantifiable decision based on technology,” he said – “There could be additional tools just to ensure consistency from one situation to another.”
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