Formula 1’s Qatar Grand Prix, and potentially the fight for the constructors’ championship, was turned on its head when Alex Albon’s right mirror flew off his car and landed on the track.
Race control’s initial handling of the stranded mirror opened the door for the 10-second stop-and-go penalty that Lando Norris picked up and dropped him from challenging for the win to battling for a single point.
Furthermore, when Valtteri Bottas ran over the mirror and scattered debris across the start-finish straight, it triggered punctures and forced a safety car that ultimately shaped the final result.
The incident, and the way it spiralled out of control, prompted the FIA on Monday to issue a short explanation about why it had acted in the way it had in not bringing out either the virtual safety car or the full safety car to allow marshals to retrieve the mirror.
“Normal practice is for the safety car not to be deployed if there is a small amount of debris, and off the racing line,” it said.
“A VSC would not have been a solution, as the cars remain spread out and there is not sufficient time for a marshal to clear the debris.”
But the downplaying of the debris being left on the track seems to be at odds with how the incident was initially handled – and especially the fact that it was decided that the loose mirror necessitated a double yellow flag rather than a single yellow.
According to the FIA’s International Sporting Code, there are notable scale differences between the type of incident that demands a single yellow and that which requires a double one.
The rules state that for a single yellow, drivers must: “Reduce your speed, do not overtake, and be prepared to change direction.
Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, kicks up gravel
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
“There is a hazard beside or partly on the track. It must be evident that a driver has reduced speed; this means a driver is expected to have braked earlier and/or noticeably reduced speed in that sector.”
For a double-waved yellow, the demands are much more onerous: “Reduce your speed significantly, do not overtake, and be prepared to change direction or stop. There is a hazard wholly or partly blocking the track and/or marshals working on or beside the track.”
The initial handling of how serious the incident was, with double-wave yellows, seems to be at odds with both the nature of it being a small mirror on the track and the fact that it was subsequently deemed…
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