System 1 race director Rui Marques’s choice to not neutralise the Qatar Grand Prix to permit a bit of particles to be eliminated prompted some criticism.
Not least from McLaren crew principal Andrea Stella, whose driver Lando Norris was penalised for failing to sluggish for yellow flags which have been proven when Alexander Albon’s Williams shed its right-hand wing mirror approaching flip one.
Norris was handed a uncommon, 10-second stop-go penalty for failing to raise in below a double waved yellow flags.
Why, requested Stella, have been the yellow flags displayed then withdrawn earlier than the mirror had been collected? The particles was later hit by Valtteri Bottas’s Sauber, and shortly afterwards two drivers sustained punctures, doubtlessly as a consequence.
The state of affairs started to unfold on lap 29 when Albon’s mirror instantly fell off as he handed by the exit of the pit lane, and got here to a relaxation on the circuit. Just below 30 seconds later, race chief Max Verstappen crossed the timing line to start lap 30.
As Verstappen approached the particles, trackside marshals have been waving double yellow flags, however the LED marshal boards weren’t but illuminated. Verstappen lifted fully off the throttle in response to the flags as he handed the scene.
Behind the Pink Bull driver, Norris had simply lapped Bottas, which allowed him to make use of his DRS alongside the pit straight. On the time, Norris was conversing with race engineer Will Joseph on his radio. Like Verstappen, Norris handed by the double waved yellows, however in contrast to his rival he didn’t raise.
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As Norris handed by, the LED marshal boards got here on to warn for the particles, triggering the yellow flag zone on the FIA’s race management dwelling timing system. Norris had gained eight tenths of a second to Verstappen from the exit of the ultimate nook to the exit of flip two, prompting Verstappen to instantly ask race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase to “test if he lifted for the yellow.”
The yellow flag was faraway from race management’s system, however a single yellow marshal board remained as Verstappen handed by on lap 31. The mirror remained on circuit at first of lap 32, with Verstappen being instructed that the “monitor is evident”. Nonetheless, the marshals board continued to point out a yellow flag.
In the beginning of lap 33, the marshal board had been turned off, indicating the monitor was all clear. Nonetheless, the particles remained on the monitor.
Vehicles continued to cross the particles in the midst of the monitor till lap 34, when Bottas moved to the within on the method to show one to permit Charles Leclerc to cross below blue flags. Bottas struck the mirror, which shattered, spreading particles over the circuit.
Did the scattering of particles throughout the monitor approaching flip one result in the following punctures suffered by Carlos Sainz Jnr and Lewis Hamilton? Sainz was the primary driver to cross by the enlarged particles area seconds later, with Sergio Perez and Hamilton round ten seconds behind.
Nonetheless, even earlier than Sainz rounded the ultimate nook, he was already reporting issues that his entrance left tyre was punctured. There have been no yellow flags when Perez and Hamilton arrived on the scene, and the Mercedes driver additionally reported a front-left puncture shortly earlier than he drove by the particles area. Each Sainz and Hamilton recovered to the pit lane with their growing punctures.
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Sainz instructed Ferrari “it ought to be Security Automotive, no?” earlier than coming into the pit lane on the finish of the lap. As Sainz left the pit lane and Hamilton entered it, the Security Automotive was lastly deployed as race chief Verstappen rounded the ultimate nook to pit on the finish of lap 35.
Later within the race, Norris was investigated and punished with a ten second stop-go penalty for failing to respect double yellow flags. His crew principal admitted his driver had didn’t raise passing the double yellow flags.
“Successfully, Lando stayed flat-out,” Stella instructed Sky. “We now have to say that the sector appeared yellow as quickly as Lando had entered the sector, however the requirement may be very clear. You could raise and it’s the duty of the driving force to recognise that you’re within the yellow sector and you must again off.”
On the similar time, Stella was puzzled by Marques’ dealing with of the state of affairs. “On the similar time, I believe it’s fairly peculiar that the yellow flag was deployed after which was eliminated, however really the state of affairs in that sector was the identical.
“There was particles on monitor, however at a while it deserved a yellow flag after which a couple of seconds after, it didn’t. Which is simply unlucky, I’d say.”
Nonetheless not everybody agreed the race ought to have been neutralised. George Russell, who made his pit cease earlier than the Security Automotive was deployed, stated doing so would have handed some drivers a bonus.
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“I used to be proper up behind Fernando [Alonso], so I didn’t really see the particles,” he stated. “It’s simple in hindsight to say that it ought to have been cleared.
“However the issue is you’ll be able to’t put a Digital Security Automotive as a result of the automobiles are all unfold evenly across the monitor, after which it’s most likely too excessive to place a Security Automotive for the tiny little bit of particles. So it’s not a straightforward name.”
Monitor standing and driver reactions at begin of lap 30
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