On lap 34 of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, the FIA put the race on the red flag after a serious collision between Valtteri Bottas and George Russell.
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After the debris was cleared, the race finally resumed. However, the way it restarted not only confused Sebastian Vettel, it also had a detrimental effect on his race.
“I don’t know why it was a rolling start,” said the German after the race. “With the red flag we tried to start with a softer tire, but there was a rolling start that we didn’t expect. And then we had a higher degradation on the soft than others on the medium. “
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Formula 1 F1 – Bahrain Grand Prix – Bahrain International Bahrain, Sakhir, Bahrain – March 25, 2021 Sebastian Vettel of Aston Martin during the FIA / Handout press conference on REUTER’S CAUTION EDITORS – THIS PICTURE HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO SALES. NO ARCHIVES
Aston Martin team boss Otmar Szafnauer repeated the same feeling. The rolling start not only surprised him, it was also too late to change Sebastian’s tires. “We expected a standing start again, but then we were told that it was a rolling start quite late.”
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Why did the FIA not inform Sebastian Vettel & Co. about the start in advance?
Vettel wasn’t the only one; Charles Leclerc was also in the same boat. He was also unaware of the rolling start. This begs the question why Race Control did not inform the drivers in advance.
According to race director Michael Masi, they followed the standard protocol. “In general, we can publish either a standing start or a rolling start once the cars have actually left the pit lane.
“And so we did it on that occasion, I think it was about seven – there or so.”
Why the rolling start and not the standing start?
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Last season, when the races in Monza and Mugello were on the red flag, they restarted with a standing start. But this time it was not feasible in Imola because the track conditions were too unsafe.
“After we had looked at the situation and especially the left side, especially the track as we approached the second corner, and the left side was quite damp, we decided on a rolling start,” said Michael Masi.
Formula 1 F1 – Emilia Romagna Grand Prix – Autodromo Enzo and Dino Ferrari, Imola, Italy – Sebastian Vettel of Aston Martin in action during practice REUTERS / Guglielmo Mangiapane
In our opinion, the FIA needs to change the rules slightly. You need to let the teams know of their decision before they leave the box. Otherwise, it could have an unfair impact on the race.
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The post Vettel reveals late FIA call to compromised Aston Martin’s Imola race first appeared on monter-une-startup.
