Word on the beat, January 2023
FIA’s safety car findings and Alpine’s driver blast
- The FIA released a report on the events behind the safety car in Japan, when a rescue vehicle on track with cars still passing amid heavy spray caused serious concern, inset. The report accepted that race control had not accounted for the fact that Pierre Gasly, having made a pitstop, was not being controlled by the safety car. It also noted: “A recovery vehicle should not be deployed unless all cars are aligned behind the Safety Car. Furthermore, marshals and recovery equipment would only be deployed while cars are on track (Safety Car periods) when the weather conditions and location of the cars to be recovered allow for a quick and safe intervention… The review panel acknowledged that having recovery cranes on track at Suzuka during the weather conditions is a sensitive matter in view of the tragic incidents of the past. The panel determined that in hindsight, as the conditions were changing, it would have been prudent to have delayed the deployment of the recovery vehicles.”
- In Brazil Fernando Alonso, inset, right, wasn’t hiding his feelings about team-mate Esteban Ocon, inset, left, after the pair made contact twice on the opening lap of the Sprint race. “He had collisions with Pérez when they were together and he had problems here with Verstappen. So I don’t think it’s a new thing.” The Alpine team was unimpressed with the on-track behaviour of both, with team principal Otmar Szafnauer commenting: “We are fighting for fourth in the constructors’ championship; an objective for which over 1000 staff are tirelessly working and striving towards. Frankly, both Esteban and Fernando must do a better job by avoiding on-track incidents and compromising the entire team’s performance. Today, both drivers have let the team down.”
