The 2016 Formula 1 world champion, Nico Rosberg, has put forward a set of reforms for the rules related to the virtual safety car (VSC) following the controversial race at the Spanish Grand Prix, where McLaren driver Lando Norris lost a potential victory due to a miscalculation in his pit strategy.
Norris, who had started from pole position, maintained a healthy lead over Kimi Antonelli from Mercedes, but when the VSC was deployed to recover Lance Stroll‘s Aston Martin, he passed through the pit entry zone, thereby losing the opportunity for a cheaper stop. This led to a reshuffling in the driving order, costing him the lead and resulting in a third-place finish behind Antonelli and Max Verstappen from Red Bull.
In statements to Sky Sports, Rosberg argued that the situation warranted exploring regulatory changes, which becomes evident in cases like Norris’s. «The truth is that this has been very unfortunate. This is what happens with VSCs and safety. Sometimes you have good or bad luck. It’s horrible when it happens, as he deserved to win, and it’s disappointing that he loses it due to an incident with the VSC,» Rosberg expressed.
Additionally, Rosberg pointed out that one of the major problems is the boredom that safety car races can cause. «We can’t watch cars going around without reaction. It’s the most boring thing in the world in motorsport. The VSC was created to minimize speed during lower risk moments, and in this case, it worked. However, he believes it might be worth exploring some proposals to make it fairer,» he added.
Among his proposals is to keep the pit lane closed during VSCs or drastically reduce the maximum allowed speed, as the time lost during a stop in this period is much lower, which can create inequalities. Rosberg concluded by stating that if a way can be found to ensure that the time lost during stops increases similarly to how it happens without VSC, a fairer competition for all drivers could be achieved.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
