The management of Formula One races is persistently under fire this season since the departure of race director Michael Massi. The double headed hydra of two race directors never seen in F1 before has led to persistent criticism from the teams, drivers and pundits of inconsistency.
It was the turn of Eduardo Freitas to manage the Singapore GP weekend as race director and again he didn’t cover himself with glory.
Sergio Perez Barcelona
Nicholas Latifi and Sergio Perez were both punished with penalty points following the race. Latifi because he practically rammed the Alfa Romeo into the wall and Perez for failing to stay within the 10 lengths of the safety car on three occasions. For which he was awarded 2 penalty points.
FIA award F1 penalty points
Latiffi collided with Zhou in the early part of the race and the stewards determined the Williams driver should have left more space.
The result?
The Canadian was awarded 2 penalty points and a 5 place grid drop for the upcoming Japanese GP.
It’s unlikely Latifi will qualify well enough to tae the full 5 place grid penalty which further makes a mockery of how the grid drop sanctions are enforced.
F1 grid drop penalties a joke
Formula One is behind the times on how they award grid drop penalties as other motorsports insist the balance of there penalty be served at the next race and after until the number of places forfeited has been served.
If Latifi qualifies 20th in Japan, he will serve have served his 5 place grid drop regardless of where he qualified.
Utter nonsense.
Yet questions arise as to why George Russell escaped sanction in Singapore.
The Mercedes driver was involved in contact between himself and Valtteri Bottas then later with Haas driver Mick Schumacher. Russel was attempting to recover from a pit lane start and come through the field but his efforts appeared clumsy and ineffective.
Russell gets away with ‘murder’
George hit Bottas and the impact sent him off at turn 7, then later in a desperate move to overtake Schumacher Russell clearly denied the Haas driver space.
Both drivers suffered punctures resulting in Russells efforts to ‘charge through the field’ from the pit lane startseeing him back of the pack once again.
The hit with the Finn sent him off at Turn Seven, and he and Schumacher banged wheels at Turn One in the latter stages, resulting in punctures for both drivers.
Hamilton favoured by the FIA
Whilst there were questions over whether Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez should have been penalised of their infringements more harshly, the fact that Russell evaded any sanction form the Singapore stewards has left many bemused over what is allowable and not.
The inconsistency of the alternating F1 race directors clearly is an issue an one that the FIA needs to resolve before the 2023 season.
As to Perez who was investigated for 3 times failing to follow the safety car within 10 lengths, Martin Brundle believes the Mexican was lucky and could easily have been stripped of his race win in Singapore.
“On a historical basis Sergio was very lucky to only receive a five-second penalty for a second infringement of not keeping within 10 lengths of the safety car while leading the pack,” said Brundle.
“Presumably he was able to convince the stewards that on cold tyres and tricky conditions, and with the ebbing and flowing of the safety car and F1 car speeds it was all acceptable.”
F1 Safety Car rule is a joke
Despite Martin Brundle observations it is clear the ten length rule for the safety car at times is absurd.
The first job of the safety car is to collect up the train of cars as quickly as possible. This means it is travelling very slowly.
The lead drivers who pick up the safety car first then spend up to a lap longer behind the safety car than the stragglers, all the time losing tyre temperature.
Perez was irritated by this knowing on a damp track the tyres were losing temperature quickly and were falling out of their operating range.
Once the safety car has collected the entire field behind, it then speeds up.
On a damp track the traction of the Mercedes or Aston Martin safety car is far greater than that of F1 cars who have been trundling behind it for a lap or two. Thus making it difficult to follow the safety car where it is quick on the damp surface.
Perez was entitled to be bemused and unable to respond initially to the vastly varying speeds of the safety car during the Singapore GP.
READ MORE: Toto Wolff set to miss Japanese GP
Wheel-to-wheel racing… literally! 🫣
George Russell made contact with Mick Schumacher heading into Turn 1 👀#SingaporeGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/ESuuTNFfkN
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 3, 2022
Historically? I hardly think so.
The more Martin Brundle talks the more it sounds like he is either on the MB payroll or he is pissed that he was not hired by RB for an advisor roll.
It’s sad because he really really has been making obnoxious claims that make JV sound normal.
Safety cars are out dated. Virtual Safety cars only from next year.
Actual Safety cars are good on an oval track but not in F1.
Virtual Safety cars keep the race as is and don’t bunch the pack up giving everyone an advantage except the leader
VSC are not as safe when people working on the track, they are an instant slow down but if people out on track fixing barriers etc the risk esp in wet/damp conditions is not safe for them ….. with the pack bunched up the hazard passes the location at the sametime & all cars are aware, the issue is the front runners going so slow to get bunched up. But VSC only come on, use a bit of common sense
Brundel sits at MB lap. Why? FOR a MB in the parking? He is clearly not an independent journalist. He shouldn’t works longer by Sky, he is damaging the company image. He is a lousy journalist too, aren’t there better more capable outside or is MB a Sky stakeholder? How are all these connections?
please sack sack him the man lives in a time warp he still thinks I’m God at the age of 25 and all he does is blare blare blare, the clothes he has on looks like he come out of the bar and pissed as well I have to turn the sound down ,,,,, I want to watch the race not hear him going on about I CAN DO THAT I’ve done that, he reminds me of that dick head bob behind the bar in Emmerdale just tell him he’s crap, to go and sell his crap in the bog rant not over, he does not go to church on Sunday he stays at home in the shrine room with hammy on the throne saying you are god I am your disciple the man is nuts well that’s all for now lol.
yours Andrew.
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I think Sky Need to change all the presenter’s because they English and are all about Lewis Hamilton this Hamilton that
I’m sick of hammy on every bloody photo I think hammy and Brundle must share the same bed because the man cannot shut up about him
You are watching on UK sky so will be predominantly English first language presenters, if you watch sky sports Spain, Italy or Germany then you won’t have English people you generally get native broadcasters! Also Karun Di Resta Schiff Danica Rosberg, regulars that are not English! That said there is a massive bias to Ham, but don’t forget he is the face of F1 & fills the diversity quota otherwise Sky scared to be deemed racist if he wasn’t mentioned as much just like the BBC.
M Brundle is a has been and should shut the F up
Clearly Ferrari fan. The moment the engineer said ‘Let’s disappear’, he was clearly the best on the grid from who had no traffic in front of them, e.g. Ricciardo, Bottas, Gasly.
Brundle needs to go. The drivers can’t stand to talk to him. I can’t stand to listen to him. He’s a joke.