During the Melbourne Grand Prix, in Australia really everything happened. Enough to require a thorough analysis of the various episodes which have brought to light the problems of such a complex and interpretable sporting regulation. One of the controversial incidents, which was thoroughly examined by the race stewards in Melbourne, concerned the first standing start, following the accident of Alexander Albon.
A formation lap too dangerous
The offending moment concerns the formation lap of the first restart. Lewis Hamilton, leading the group after an excellent start and Russell's pit stop, became the protagonist of an episode judged too dangerous, but not "illegal". Following the Safety Car, the Englishman slowed down a lot and almost crashed, thus forcing the rest of the group into dangerous maneuvers to avoid a series of rear-end collisions. Especially in blind corners. There are those who almost stopped and also those who found themselves having to use escape routes because the group was too compact and slow.
A maneuver not particularly appreciated especially by his old rival, Max Verstappen, who opened on a controversial team radio pointing out how Lewis was nowhere near the 10 car lengths the leader should respect behind the Safety Car: “Man, Lewis is over 10 car lengths away. Check it out!"
Nothing irregular but regulation to be reviewed
The episode, not investigated in the race, was reviewed by the race stewards, who found no real culprits despite it being a situation "not ideal from a safety standpoint.” The reason lies in the regulation. Article 58.8 of the FIA International Sporting Code stipulates that the lead car must remain within 10 lengths of the Safety Car before the restart when its lights are on. However, in the event of a standing start, the Safety Car lights go out and therefore the leader can take up more space than that imposed by the regulation. Article 58.11 says so.
So Hamilton has not committed anything irregular, reading the regulation. Despite this, however, the commissioners deemed it appropriate to dwell on the question, to prevent similar episodes from occurring, perhaps with more serious consequences. “We believe part of the problem is the regulation which allows the leading car to set the pace. Perhaps this aspect should be looked into in the future to see if the current rules are appropriate for a restart of this nature [off the grid]”.
Source statements: Motorsport.com
