McLaren issue stark 'we all voted for this' reminder to F1 rivals
McLaren issue stark 'we all voted for this' reminder to F1 rivals
McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl has reminded his F1 rivals they all voted in favour of the current safety car regulations so should support the FIA's application of the rules.
The conclusion of the Italian Grand Prix drew a negative reaction from fans and a mixed response in the paddock as the chequered flag fell under safety car conditions.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner and Ferrari counterpart Mattia Binotto were both critical in their comments, with the latter, in particular, questioning why it took so long to shuffle the cars into the correct order for a restart.
In contrast, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff praised the governing body for precisely following the regulations.
Although Lando Norris pitted under the final safety car - that was caused after his team-mate Daniel Ricciardo retired on track - and lost a position to Sergio Perez, Seidl supported the decision of race director Niels Wittich not to restart the event.
"We should be clear that after what happened last year in Abu Dhabi, there were a lot of discussions between the FIA, Formula 1 and all of the teams involved in order to see how the rules could be modified to make sure races never end under a safety car," said Seidl.
“But despite the FIA and Formula 1 really pushing us all to find solutions, it was down to us, the teams, not agreeing to any change because we couldn’t agree on any better [system] that was still a fair solution in terms of the sporting outcome.
“That is why, I guess, we simply have to accept that, unfortunately, situations like this can happen.”
F1 pushed for safety car solution
Last year's championship-deciding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was controversial as the regulations appeared to be overruled by the 'let them race' principle that teams had pushed for.
In order to prevent a similar occurrence in the future, F1, the FIA and the teams discussed changes to ensure a satisfactory green-flag finish to every race.
"Formula 1 and the FIA really tried hard to push us to find a solution as teams, or make proposals of how we could change the regulations, in order to always end races under a green flag," added Seidl.
“But because of too many concerns, pretty much from all teams involved that we shouldn’t put the spectacle first, we only want solutions that favour the sporting side and don’t suddenly end up in jeopardy.
"That is why we couldn’t agree on anything better than what we have in place, and that is why I also don’t now change my opinion suddenly because it was not in our favour [at Monza].
“In the end, we voted that the regulations should stay as they have been. As far as I remember, every single team voted like that and therefore, let’s close the subject and move on.
“Even if it might sound easy to create something like always throwing out a red flag, it's actually not that straightforward.
“Again, we discussed it at length, but we didn’t come up with any better solution and that is why we should now support the regulations that are in place and how they have been applied because we all, every single team, voted for it.”
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Vettel CONFIRMS F1 comeback and reveals what's holding it up
- 4 minutes ago
Hamilton flooded with applications as F1 celebrity pal founds new team
- 49 minutes ago
F1 News Today: Hamilton puts himself on the market with F1 set for TAKEOVER worth 'billions'
- 50 minutes ago
EXCLUSIVE: Meeting F1's Max Verstappen - Red Bull star’s ‘cool’ canteen encounter
- 1 hour ago
Alonso RIDICULES major FIA decision
- 2 hours ago
Top manufacturer takes HUGE step towards F1 return
- Today 14:00
F1 Race Calendar
-
GP BAHRAIN
29 Feb - 2 Mar
Max Verstappen
-
GP SAUDI ARABIA
7 - 9 Mar
Max Verstappen
-
GP AUSTRALIA
22 - 24 Mar
Carlos Sainz
- GP JAPAN 5 - 7 Apr
- GP CHINA 19 - 21 Apr
- GP USA 3 - 6 May
- GP ITALY 17 - 19 May
- GP MONACO 24 - 26 May
Related news
F1 team boss reveals KEY Piastri turning point
McLaren announce MEGA deal for key F1 star
Norris escapes F1 jump start punishment thanks to bizarre 'loophole'
Hamilton's former F1 team-mate set to undergo heart surgery
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860