F1 drivers surprised race control waited before deploying VSC after Sainz-Perez crash · RaceFans

Formula 1 drivers questioned race control’s decision not to deploy the Virtual Safety Car for over a minute after the heavy crash at the end of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The race ended under VSC conditions after Carlos Sainz Jnr and Sergio Perez tangled on the penultimate lap and crashed into a barrier between turns two and three.

The crash left two cars in the barrier and a substantial amount of debris scattered across the racing line. Drivers approaching the incident had a poor view of the crash scene as they face the sun at that point on the track, and some parts of the Ferrari and Red Bull were obscured by shade.

Valtteri Bottas, who saw the crash occur in front of him, immediately predicted the race would be neutralised.

“Big shunt in front of me,” he told his team. “It’s going to be a Safety Car.”

Although the scene was immediately covered by double waved yellow flags, race control waited over a minute to impose VSC conditions. In the meantime drivers braked for the incident scene, then accelerated away under green flag conditions while people stood beside the crashed cars.

Fernando Alonso also called for a Safety Car on his radio and described the situation as “quite dangerous.”

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“Understood,” his race engineer Chris Cronin replied. “There’s loads of debris everywhere. We’re watching tyre pressures carefully.”

George Russell said he was faced with a “wall of carbon fibre” when the two drivers collided ahead of him. He was “shocked” by the delay before the VSC was deployed.

Nico Hulkenberg, another of the first drivers to encounter the crash, lost two positions after hitting debris and slowing, which allowed Lewis Hamilton and Oliver Bearman to overtake him. “For me that was a straight Safety Car or even a red flag because it was real carnage down the straight,” said Hulkenberg.

Bearman was also surprised race control did not neutralise the race more swiftly. “I managed to overtake him just after the yellow flag,” he told Viaplay. “I don’t understand why we continued at racing speeds and not under VSC or Safety Car with a crash of that size with that amount of debris on track.

“I managed to overtake him because Hamilton went up the inside, so I got a position, but it’s a bit strange that they left the track under green flag like that.”