Is safety truly a priority in Formula 1? A critical look at the FIA’s decision-making. Why Formula 1's commitment to safety is being questioned.

Everyone involved in Formula 1, from drivers and engineers to fans watching around the world, understands the inherent dangers of the sport. Despite the remarkable advances made over the years, Formula 1 remains one of the most demanding and potentially hazardous forms of motorsport, where safety should always remain the highest priority.

The principle of safety as the highest priority

Over the past decade, the FIA has introduced a series of increasingly strict regulations that have fundamentally transformed safety standards across Formula 1. Innovations such as the Halo, TecPro barriers and improved driver protective equipment have significantly reduced the risks faced by competitors and have become key milestones in the sport’s technological evolution.

Safety is also embedded within the FIA Formula 1 Sporting Regulations themselves. The introduction to the regulations clearly states that one of the championship’s core objectives is to promote “the highest standards of safety for the championship.”

When practice appears to contradict the principle

Despite the importance officially attached to driver safety, there have been numerous occasions where other priorities appear to have taken precedence over that guiding principle.

The latest example came during the closing moments of qualifying at Spielberg. George Russell secured pole position while Max Verstappen’s car remained stationary against the barriers following his accident.

That situation was possible because the regulations do not automatically invalidate a lap completed under a single yellow flag. Instead, a driver may continue the lap provided they increase their time by at least five percent through the affected micro-sector compared with their previous attempt.

As previously explained, this rule applies only under a single yellow flag, which is intended to indicate a lower level of danger. Even so, it seems paradoxical to argue that Max Verstappen, still sitting inside his car while George Russell drove through the same corner at high speed, was not exposed to a significant safety risk.

The importance of preserving the spectacle

Few scenarios are less desirable for Formula 1 than seeing a qualifying session decided by a yellow flag in its closing moments. Such incidents inevitably reduce the sporting drama and excitement that the FIA and Formula 1 seek to deliver to spectators around the world.

However, previous examples have raised even greater concerns. Among them, the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix remains one of the most controversial events in recent Formula 1 history. Officially classified as a race, the event ended after only two laps behind the Safety Car and never featured genuine racing conditions.

With visibility so poor that drivers could barely see the track ahead, the FIA chose that solution in order to validate the event, avoiding the commercial and contractual consequences that cancelling the race altogether would likely have created.

Drivers are not test subjects

Safety has not only appeared secondary to the desire to preserve the sporting spectacle. Recent events have also suggested that technical and commercial objectives have, at times, taken priority over concerns expressed by drivers and teams.

One of the clearest examples came with the introduction of the current generation of power units. As early as winter testing, several drivers and team principals warned the FIA that the new regulations could create dangerous situations because of the superclipping phenomenon. Those concerns, however, received little attention.

Meaningful regulatory changes only arrived after Oliver Bearman was involved in a serious accident during the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, an incident reportedly caused by superclipping and unfolding in precisely the manner that Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen had previously warned about.

It is difficult to accept that protecting drivers’ safety should remain a fundamental principle within the regulations while continuing to be negotiable whenever competing sporting, technical or commercial interests emerge.

Spielberg, the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix and Suzuka should not be viewed as isolated incidents. Instead, they can be seen as different examples of the same recurring pattern, one in which driver safety risks being placed behind the need to preserve the spectacle for fans or to protect the commercial and technical interests of Formula 1.