Russell, accident and scare
The Australian GP last Sunday ended – for the 15th time in the history of Formula 1 – in a Safety Car regime (or Virtual Safety Car in this specific case). This is nothing new for the Melbourne circuit, which had already experienced similar race finishes in 2009 and especially last year, when the Grand Prix was even plagued by three red flags.
This time, however, it was exactly there failure to display the flag which traditionally signals the suspension of the race to trigger some doubts among professionals. The reference is toaccident occurred to George Russell in turn 6 during the penultimate lap. The Mercedes Englishman lost control of his W15 and ended up in the escape route and against the wall. The car then bounced onto the track, stopping in the middle of the roadhalf overturned and with the same pilot who – understandably frightened – invoked the “red flag” for fear that other cars could hit him.
Brundle's assessment: a stop was needed right away the race
Race Direction, on the other hand, 'limited' itself to using the virtual safety car to slow down the activity on the track. A choice not shared by the former pilot and well-known television commentator Martin Brundlewhich in his editorial for Sky Sports criticized this decision: “The end result seemed like a more serious accident in some respects than it actually was – acknowledged Brundle – as the car was resting on its side and blocking the gravel-covered track“.
“The leading drivers had already entered the final lap and race management decided to address the incident with a 'virtual safety car', meaning all drivers had to slow down to a set time. Furthermore, the area was covered by double yellow flags, which means the obligation to slow down until you are ready to stop at the first eventuality. Being though just around a blind bend and seeing as there were staff and a medical car on site, the situation was a red flag – Brundle underlined – fortunately the cars were able to pass without problems and the checkered flag was waved at the end of the lap“.
#Russell #accident #Brundle #critical #Red #flag #situation
