In recent history, F1 fans have been denied significant portions of the race due to damp or wet conditions on track.
Indeed there has been much anger from fans toward race control when lap after lap has been wasted behind the safety car.
And who can blame them?
With high ticket prices and pay per view subscriptions becoming more and more prevalent, fans have been denied what should be the spectacle of the worlds best drivers in the most challenging conditions.
In response the FIA’s World Motorsport Council ratified the wet standing start rule change back in September.
The changes mandate the field will start behind the safety car as normal, wait until the track has dried up for a number of laps. When the safety car pulls into the pits, the cars line up on the grid as would be normal during a dry start.
The ever eager Max Verstappen was quick to praise the change with a recent interview with the German media today saying: “It’s ok for me and it’s better for the fans.
It would have been nice in Silverstone if we had just stopped and then started ‘right’.”
But this is another case of the WMC’s misjudgement – listening to fans yes, but not thinking clearly through the rules.
Who mandates when it’s safe to start the race? Charlie Whitings judgement on wet race conditions has been regularly brought into question by TJ13 over the years with Japan 2014 the worst example.
If it’s too dangerous to start the race when it’s wet, then he’s unlikely to pull in the safety car. Should he allow the cars to form up on the grid after multiple laps, the racing line side of the grid will likely have a advantage. The cars will explore the width of the circuit around the lap but if left to circulate too long a dry line develops. That wet/dry combination of the start finish straight could be chaos.
An accident waiting to happen.
Should the safety car continue until the track is bone dry, why not delay the start of the race rather than remove more laps from the total?
So it begs the question, why have the safety car at all? The drivers should be competent enough on a few parade laps in the wet then form up on the grid without its interference.
Here we have another case of the FIA’s incompetence.
Bullsh*t. Drive the goddamn cars. It’ll always be to wet for some(Massa, Rosberg…) while others will scream on the radio that it’s ready to race after 50m (Vettel, Hamilton…) if they’re not good enough, or scared, they can always drive slower…
Agreed. They shouldn’t be in F1 if they can’t handle a wet start. So other lower series have wet starts, but F1? Nope…
Only exception should be if the helicopter can’t fly.
Agree. Typhoons are reasons to not race. There is a limit to everything. But a mediocre shower which we Belgians or our friends the brits endure every week shouldn’t stop em. The best of the best…
It’s pretty obvious that those starting on the opposite side of the racing line will pass over their grid slots when circulating to clear the water, they’re not stupid. So the clearing of what will be equal. The only advantage will be the rubber on the racing line, but that’s no different to usual.
Maybe the big public is waiting for a wet start carnage and don’t care what happens. Look at all the slow onlookers when there is an incident on the highway. The public runs to a good car accident, fire or whatever. Just to see how bad it is, who died or is seriously injured or to see how some hero saves the baby from the burning house.
Frankly, the only thing that excites me about bicycle racing or ice skating is a good hard crash. People enjoy ice-hockey because it is nice to see a good build up goal, but they just as much like to see people braking bones when getting slammed into the boarding. That’s people for you.
It will be very interesting to see wich part FOM played in this FIA decision.
Jeeze, has it been 18 years already…?
https://youtu.be/o02s_g5AUUE
I confess, I do love a good carnage, the sport has gone way to sterile in my opinion, cars and engine’s nowadays need to ‘last’ and pilots have become drivers.
As for the question if a Safety car is needed before a wet race start? Not if you expand the rulebook, monitor drivers and hang penalties above their heads
Cause the drivers and teams are competent enough to gain an advantage out of any loophole that can be found.
So I doubt we will gain anything by dismissing the safety car.