Formula 1 can’t do well with late-race problems | NOW+ Formula 1

With the chaotic final phase of the Australian Grand Prix, Formula 1 again drew criticism on Sunday. Does the sport not know how to deal with issues late in the races, or can race control never get it right? Opinions are divided.

“They want to finish at race speed. I don’t think there is anything wrong with that”, Christian Horner was clear on Sunday after the race in Melbourne. Max Verstappen’s team boss has no problems with the end of the chaotic race in Australia. Horner therefore has little to complain about, especially because it always works out well for his team.

Three finishes have stood out in recent years. Of course it is about ‘Abu Dhabi’, as the controversial final race of 2021 is simply called. In addition, there is an example from Monza in 2022 and therefore the race on Sunday in Albert Park.

Three different situations, and all three races won by Max Verstappen. In Abu Dhabi this happened because the safety car went back in on the penultimate lap, in Monza he won behind the safety car and in Melbourne the two-time champion triumphed after a late restart with a safety car for dessert.

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Comments on all decisions

There was much to criticize in all three situations. After Abu Dhabi, the anger was mainly at Mercedes and the decisions of then race director Michael Masi still gnaw at both Lewis Hamilton and his supporters.

The Italian Grand Prix in 2022 finished behind the safety car, after which Ferrari in particular was displeased. Team boss Mattia Binotto simply called it ‘wrong’. He wasn’t the only one, by the way.

A field that crosses the finish line at a slow trot is not well received by television viewers and fans, so there was a lot of criticism. Here too, the race management couldn’t really do it right, even though rules were followed,

“That second red flag was not necessary”

The question is whether the situations are comparable, especially when it comes to ‘Monza’ and ‘Melbourne’. At the 2022 race, only Daniel Ricciardo’s car was stationary along the circuit, while there was a lot of junk on the track in Albert Park on Sunday. Yet there was also criticism, especially from winner Verstappen.

“That second red flag was really not necessary. If we had settled with a safety car, there would not have been so many crashes”, the Dutchman said afterwards. “They created the problem themselves,” he added.

Verstappen therefore blames race management for accidents occurring in the first corner. Experiences from the past show that this is lurking in such a sprint to the finish. On the other hand, the question is legitimate whether the race management is responsible for crashes of the drivers. They have the wheel in their hands and their feet on the pedals, and they also decide how much risk they take. It doesn’t have to go wrong in the first corner. It did.

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Communication could be much better

“I had the impression that there wasn’t much going on, but I can’t see it very well and we have to trust the race management,” Fernando Alonso said of the reason for the second red flag.

Here comes a shortcoming of Formula 1 that often bothers the sport: communication. The race management can ask a lot of drivers, but most of all take it away from the public at home by communicating about the reasons behind a red flag.

The first interruption after Alexander Albon’s crash also seemed a bit exaggerated, but if the fans had a clear message with the how and why, it would undoubtedly have led to more understanding.

The sport doesn’t want to learn the lesson

It is a lesson that the sport does not want to learn, and that after the points debacle surrounding Verstappen’s second world title in Japan. Explain it, avoid commotion and ambiguity. The same obviously also applies to the confusion surrounding whether or not the race will restart this Sunday. “Our people at the Milton Keynes factory quickly calculated it and were sure there was no restart,” Horner said of the closing situation.

At Red Bull they know the regulations well, while the FIA ​​took a long time to clarify. It eventually came, but there was no question of a good explanation. Few television viewers know the rules about whether or not laps have been completed by heart.

Alexander Albon caused the first red flag situation Photo: Getty Images

More clarity is badly needed

At the same time, the leadership of the sport seems impossible to please everyone. Team bosses including Horner want the race to be stopped in the closing stages if there are problems, while Lando Norris accused the FIA ​​of “wanting to make the sport more exciting with such a late restart”.

The FIA ​​can never really get it right. But it is good to start with clear communication, clear rules and a consistent line. Then everyone knows where he stands.

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