David Coulthard, former Formula 1 driver, has expressed his disappointment with the current format of the safety car after the recent British Grand Prix, which ended in an anticlimactic manner. Coulthard highlighted that the slowness of safety car procedures not only affects the dynamics of the races but can also detract from the spectacle of the sport.
In a recent episode of the podcast Up To Speed, the winner of 13 grands prix criticized the lack of efficiency in the process, proposing that incidents in the last ten laps of a race should automatically result in a red flag. This measure, he suggests, would allow for a more dynamic restart of the competition.
The British GP was marked by an incident on lap 48, when Max Verstappen‘s Red Bull car got stuck at Stowe corner. Despite pit stops by drivers like Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, the race could not resume under the expected conditions, ending under the safety car.
Coulthard commented that the current management model causes drivers and teams to miss crucial opportunities, stating: ‘We are Formula 1. We change tires in 2.2 seconds. It’s not difficult to speed up the safety car process, knowing where the vehicles are with GPS data.’ He defended the sport’s ability to take quicker and more efficient measures.
His idea of automatically waving red flags at critical moments could prevent controversial situations like those experienced during the end of last season. With only 22 cars on track, managing incidents shouldn’t be a complicated task, Coulthard concluded, defending the competence of the best drivers in the world.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
SourceID: SRC_75e65e297aa3403f9eb50c5c6241a409369b0c72