FIA urged to make pit lane safety changes after Carlos Sainz near-miss

Italian GP

FIA urged to make pit lane safety changes after Sainz near-miss

Ferrari driver had a narrow escape in tight pit lane at Zandvoort

Ian Parkes & Will Gray

Friday 9 September 2022 13:26

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Carlos Sainz has called on the FIA to make sweeping changes to pit lane safety after a near-miss during last weekend's Dutch Grand Prix that highlighted the dangers faced by team mechanics.

Sainz almost ran over a mechanic when he was released back into the pit lane during a safety car period at Zandvoort, leading to the Ferrari driver and Fernando Alonso's Alpine touching.

Asked if changes should be made to the Zandvoort pit lane, Sainz said: “Absolutely. I think it's something that is not talked about enough, that we go to pit lanes during the year that are definitely too tight.

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“We need to improve safety for the mechanics because we forget that those people wearing suits and helmets and doing the pit stops are in the middle of cars going at 80kph and they are centimetres apart from accidents and dangerous situations."

Sainz says changes must be made to continue racing at some circuits

Sainz has confirmed raising the issue with the Dutch GP stewards when he was handed a penalty for an unsafe release and hopes the message will get through to the FIA.

Asked if the problem had been discussed beforehand, he added: “It hasn't been questioned yet in a GPDA meeting or FIA meeting, but it's something I brought up to the stewards after the race.

“I made the message clear to the stewards and they would pass that through to the race director and the FIA. Whether it's a matter I would raise in the drivers' meeting I haven't thought about it, but it might be a possibility.

“I want to keep racing at Zandvoort, Singapore, Budapest. I'm talking about narrow pit lanes, but we need to think about the mechanics and how tight everything is in there because it's just too tight.

“We talk a lot about car safety, circuit safety, but in the pit lane, I'm concerned that one day something could happen if we keep having these narrow pit lanes and so much going on, especially with multiple pit stops at the same time.”