The FIA responds to criticism about the Aston Martin safety car
During the Australian Grand Prix, Aston Martin sent their safety car onto the track twice. For some of the drivers, it was deemed too slow compared to the one from Mercedes, a criticism that the FIA has just responded to.
During the first two Grand Prix of the season, namely Bahrain and Jeddah, the safety car used was the Mercedes AMG and no criticism had been expressed towards it. The same cannot be said of the Aston Martin, considered to be too slow by a part of the paddock.
The reigning world champion, Max Verstappen, went as far as comparing the safety car to a turtle, highlighting its lack of grip and pace on the Australian track. This Thursday, the International Automobile Federation responded to these criticisms on its Twitter account, reminding of the primary role of a safety car.
FIA Statement on @F1 Safety Car pic.twitter.com/5p0uHGo6mu
— FIA (@fia) April 14, 2022
In light of the recent comments regarding the pace of the FIA safety car, the FIA wishes to remind that the primary function of the safety car is, of course, not simply pure speed, but the safety of the drivers, stewards, and officials, declares the statement.
The procedures take into account various objectives, depend on the incident in question, including the obligation to regroup the platoon, management of an incident and cleaning debris on the track as safely as possible, as well as managing speed according to the cleaning activities that may take place in different areas of the circuit.
As a result, the speed of the safety car is typically determined by the race management and is not limited by the capabilities of the safety cars, which are high-performance vehicles prepared by two of the world’s largest manufacturers, equipped to handle changing track conditions and all weather conditions, and driven by particularly experienced and seasoned drivers.
The impact of the pace of the safety car on the performance of the following cars is a secondary consideration, given that this impact is the same for all competitors, who are, as always, responsible for their safe driving in all circumstances according to the track conditions and their car.
Furthermore, the FIA is initiating discussions regarding the distance that drivers must maintain between each other behind the safety car.
