Safety Car Rules Could Change by Monaco

Just read this on Speed.

http://formula-one.speedtv.com/article/f1-exclusive-safety-car-rules-could-change-by-monaco/

 

It was a dumb rule in the first place, time to fine tune it.

 

If the point of the safety car is to slow everyone down, but you can do that with minimum sector times the question seems to be why do you need a safety car at all? All it does at that point is bugger up the race it appears, no?

 

I was thinking that everyone should put on their pit lane speed limiter, but maybe it would overheat the engines. Minimum sector times don't work, what if Massa spins out in a sector that has a minimum sector time. He then gets back on the track and drives full speed because he knows he'll be above the minimum sector time, he then loses control again (because he sucks a lot) and kills two marshals.

Maybe Charlie W is right, he says teams should carry extra fuel to account for safety car problems.

 

well, they should maintain the normal old SC rules. it really jumbles up things, and make it fun. like a poker game.

 

Good point about the minimum time. They need a speed limit so it would seem it should be the same as the pit speed limit since all the cars are equiped for that. Then it can be just between 2 or 3 corners and racing on the rest of the track.

 

...IS going to be dangerous...differential speeds will be a mess...

...If a backmarker makes the corner and gets limited...and the guy behind was way faster and gets limited but coming much faster it wont loose speed that fast...the guy in front will be rammed easily...IMHO...

This is really a discussion topic

 

no I don't think so. It isn't any different than a front and back car both entering the pits at the same time. they could even add lines at the enterance to the corners so it's clear where the speed limit starts. It would be pretty easy I think.

 

I've always thought the safety car should run fast enough for the F1 cars to keep their tires warm. Then just slow down though the yellow section, and then speed up again. I think cold tires are what killed Senna after the safety car.

 

it is different.
...you know you need to slow down cause there is little space to brake entering and engaging the speed limiter, and you know in advance you are entering pitane, and the guy behind you knows that too...how do you know in advance where accidents happen so you can paint the lines in that precise track sector?...what if there is an accident and there are no lines in that sector?

...sometimes they crash just because the front runner is going too slow, imagine what might happen if they just lift all of a sudden on a very narrow turn!...besides, you wont need to limit the speed ONLY, you need them to SLOW DOWN so brakes need to be applied...

 

What if they declared their fuel loads and when they are planning to pit to the marshals (don't they already have this information?). Then when there is a SC incident, they are allowed to pit if its within a lap of when they were originally going to pit. You would be allowed to go in earlier, but not later. (to account for the fuel saved from a SC period). Would this work? Then, everyon'e would still pit relatively close to when they were going to originally, theoretically keeping the same place.

 

Just use a flag.

 

that is a proven fact...cold tires killed Senna

and I have to +1 to this...absolutely

 

...Safety car should be a SPEC car, a backmarker like an Aguri...with lights...something to keep a decent pace throught the rest of the clean track...
And pits should be opened one lap or two after the SC came out...I mean...they are ALWAYS open, why would they be closed if there´s a SC?...

this is a tricky business...

 

The safety car isn't holding back, its actually going full speed, that's just the speed difference between a top end road car and an F1 car. Lots of people want to the safety car to be faster, but that would involve slick tyres etc.

 

Good idea!

 

I should have said I would replace the Mercedes with a car that is fast enough. How about the Mercedes CLK GTR?

 

or a 599 with slicks?

 

Cold tires don't kill drivers. A driver's inability or unwillingness to adjust to known conditions kills drivers.

Sorry to get on a soapbox but I get annoyed when driver errors are blamed on known conditions that we as drivers are supposed to adjust for. Greasy tires, cold tires, cold track, etc. are not surprises and we should be adjusting our driving style accordingly. A great example is debris or oil/coolant on the track, which I often hear as the 'cause' of spins. After your first time through the area you should know its there and it should no longer be to blame. I like the way NASA describes it - they show the debris flag for two laps and then take it down, saying that it is now 'part of the racing surface.' Senna's desire to set fast lap knowing he had cold tires contributed to his death, not the safety car.

OK, I'm done. Sorry for rambling off topic.

 

so, Senna's the only one got killed because of cold tyres? i think, the steering column played a part in that too, not just tyres. Senna was on cold tyres, so was others.

 

Simple answer: two pit spots per team and cooling fans.

Then bring EVERYBODY into the pits and leave the track for the safety crews.

 

interesting fact..

 

The whole point of the safety car is to slow the field down and by that logic it completely fails due to the unlapping rule which I think is incredibly stupid and NASCAR like. Additionally, I don't even understand the intent of closing the pitlane when the SC is deployed. It's frighteningly stupid, and doesn't make things safer. Pitting under the SC is just generic F1 strategy not to mention with this rule it was inevitable someone would get caught out like Heidfield did.