After taking pole position with a standout lap on Saturday, Lando Norris appeared poised to win the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix until a badly timed virtual safety car cost him the opportunity.
McLaren, however, says it will not hold race control responsible for the setback.
The characteristics of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya meant that a strong start from pole would greatly increase Norris’s chances, with overtaking proving extremely difficult for F1, F2 and F3 cars in race conditions.
With clean air, the Briton quickly moved ahead of Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen. That advantage disappeared when Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin suffered brake failure and stopped on the side of the track, triggering the virtual safety car.
Norris was already past the pit entry when the VSC was introduced, and the track was green again by the time he completed another lap and pitted. Other contenders used the disruption to change tyres, while Norris said the timing cost him around 20 seconds.
The incident prompted debate about safety-car and virtual safety-car procedures and whether measures could be introduced to prevent drivers from gaining or losing an advantage when they are deployed.
Andrea Stella said race control should not be responsible for setting safety-car rules
Photo by Ryan Pierse / Getty Images
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella believes those questions should not influence the race direction during a Grand Prix.
“Like all the times in which a safety car or a virtual safety car timing or duration has a large influence on a race, we have an opportunity to review whether we can do things differently,” he said after the race.
“But this is not under the jurisdiction of the race director. The race director applies the guidance and the regulations at the moment of the race that he’s directing. And I think that when there’s a situation like the one that caused the virtual safety car, the attention of the race director, and rightly so, is on when the conditions exist to turn the virtual safety car on and when they exist to turn it off. I don’t think he takes a look at what’s happening in the race. It would be a big distraction.”
“Keep it in the hands of the gods”
Stella said the team had “absolutely no comment” on the Spanish GP race direction, adding that officials had “done a good job according to what is present”. However, he acknowledged that there may be scope for wider reflection on how to maintain greater fairness in similar situations.
“I’m puzzled myself as to what’s right,” Stella continued. “Is it correct to give enough duration such that everyone will be subject to the same track conditions? So, for instance, the virtual safety car lasts at least one full lap. Or, you just keep it in the hands of the gods? And sometimes you are lucky, sometimes you are not. I’m not sure myself.
“But in general, there’s the right place to have this sort of conversation, which is the Strategy Advisory Committee, the famous SAC. And this is a topic that may be added to the agenda and discussed over there. But if it’s a change, it will have to go through the SAC, then the F1 Commission, and eventually the Sporting Regulations.”
Lando Norris missed out to Kimi Antonelli in Spain
Stella said that process would be “relatively lengthy”, making a change unlikely in the near future. Norris acknowledged that other drivers had also lost out in similar circumstances, while he had benefited on occasion.
“I was the only one, the only one on the whole grid that didn’t get the chance to do the pitstop,” Norris said at the post-race press conference. “That’s just unfortunate. It’s happened in races and there’s been plenty of times where I’ve gained from it in the past and times where I lost from it.
“It’s racing, but never when fighting for a win. So, I think it’s probably one of the first times a win has been lost simply because of it.”
