This is not a question of rules! We don’t need to change the regulations, the FIA could have done a better job, criticises Binotto at the end of the race

Obviously every fan expected a different ending in Italy, but this is Formula 1 too. Or at least that’s what the rules say. Due to Daniel Ricciardo’s McLaren being shut down on lap 47, the Italian Grand Prix was finished behind the safety car and therefore under yellow flags. In short, the FIA stuck to the regulations and safety, yet criticism is coming from Ferrari.

It was the 47th lap of the Italian Grand Prix when Ricciardo in the McLaren shut down his monoposto between the corners of Lesmo, which was simply betrayed by technology. The Australian driver was eventually knocked out of the race by an oil leak.

Race Direction first activated a virtual safety car, but then a conventional safety car took to the track, slowing down all the action at Monza and allowing the track marshals to get on with the job of clearing the car.

At that point it was almost clear that the race would not restart. The track marshals first tried to clear Ricciardo’s car with their own forces, but his monoposto simply could not be moved. And so it was not until two more laps later that a crane arrived and successfully removed the Australian driver’s car.

For the race directors, the safety of not only the removal operation, but also of the competitors themselves was clearly more important at that moment. Even after three more laps, Bernd Maylander and his safety car were unable to get all the monoblocs into the correct order. Otherwise it is simply not possible to race again, as the rules clearly state.

Or rather, for safety reasons, the FIA didn’t let anyone overtake. But that doesn’t sit well with Ferrari at the moment. In fact, the head of the Italian stable, Mattia Binotto, noted that the FIA did not work efficiently enough, with Charles Leclerc losing the opportunity to attack Max Verstappen because of the non-restarted race.

This is not a matter of regulations…

“I don’t think it should be a question of changing the rules. It was discussed with the FIA, F1 and the teams and we came to the conclusion that the current format is probably the right one to keep. So I don’t think it was a matter of regulations today,” Binotto said in one of the post-race interviews.

“I’m definitely disappointed in how long it took them to make the decision. We don’t understand why they hesitated so much and didn’t let the pilots going by overtake the safety car so they could line up properly, ” he added.

Binotto also said that he was convinced that the safety argument was not valid at the moment as the race leader behind the safety car had to maintain the speed specified in the rules. He then also added that the situation was complicated and no rules need to change. According to the Ferrari boss, it is just that the FIA should have done a better job and applied the set regulations better.

He then went on to also state that the Formula One show suffered as a result and the spectators were deprived of a dramatic end to the race.

“I think they just have to do a better job for F1, for the show. It’s not just about Ferraris and tifosi, because if the safety car had finished earlier, how would the race have ended? I don’t know.

Max was still the fastest on the track with the new tyres. But in general I think we should try to end the safety car as early as possible to give the drivers more race time. In this respect, we believe the FIA has not done a good job. And they need to do better in the future, it’s not good for F1,” he concluded.

F1, Motorsport