Last updated on December 4th, 2024 at 09:38 am
The Qatar Grand Prix incidents rocked the FIA. In addition, they came after the organization’s president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, told drivers to mind their business during an interview. Alex Albon’s wing mirror came loose early in the race and stayed at the start-finish area.
According to bookie PPH review and news sites, the mirror became a safety hazard after Sauber driver Valtteri Bottas ran over it. As a result, pieces of carbon fiber covered the racing line. Some pieces were stuck on the tires of Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz, but they managed to stay on track.
Rui Marques, who took over for Niels Wittich between the GPs in Sao Paulo and Las Vegas, waited a few circuits before deploying the vehicle.
Qatar Grand Prix Incidents
The FIA clarified the delay in deploying the safety car on Monday. According to a representative from the sport’s governing organization, who talked with some media sources, it is not common procedure to deploy the safety car to clear a small quantity of debris from the racing line. Because the group was too dispersed across the Losail circuit and a marshal couldn’t get to the broken mirror in time, Marques and his crew decided against using a virtual safety car.
Following the conclusion of the initial safety car period, another contentious event occurred. Lando Norris, racing second behind eventual race winner Max Verstappen, was penalized for speeding under multiple yellow flags.
According to gambling software experts, Norris had to serve a 10-second stop/go penalty within three laps of being handed to him. The British driver scored one world championship point after slipping to fifteenth and last after being served. He recovered enough to finish tenth after battling his way past slower competitors.
Norris’s stop/go decision significantly impacts McLaren’s Constructors Championship battle with Ferrari. In preparation for next Sunday’s season finale in Abu Dhabi, the two teams’ lead has been narrowed to 21 points. The FIA justified the decision to give Norris a stop/go, saying it followed punishment rules sent to the teams in February 2024. Also, a double yellow is considered a major safety risk in their eyes.
Safety Car Drama
The second safety vehicle intervention was even more dramatic since the safety car’s lights started to go out. Two incidents involving Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez necessitated the safety car’s deployment shortly after the wreckage of Albon’s wing mirror was removed.
The race continued as planned when the lights failed, but to avoid repeating the problem, the safety car was switched out. The assault on the senses and G-forces make it extremely difficult to see inside an F1 vehicle, making it much more challenging to watch for debris.
However, Formula One has a race director who keeps the drivers focused on the race and authorities who monitor the track conditions to ensure everyone’s safety. Even the most casual followers could tell that Marques and his stewards could not prevent the mirror from being run over in Qatar.
Fortunately, two cars were able to dodge the barricades despite getting punctures. Worrying about what may have happened in the absence of Losail’s enormous runoff zones with gravel traps or the present generation of Formula One vehicles is an exercise in futility.
A change is necessary to ensure that Sunday’s events never happen again. To avoid any possible incidents, a safety car shall be sent out to clean the track if the debris cannot be cleared in two laps while racing is underway.
If they don’t want to repeat the mayhem that ruined the latter rounds of the fantastic 2024 season, FIA needs to implement these improvements and speed up decisions until at least 2026. If things continue, Liberty Media may have to step in and decide if it wants to take over the sport instead of the FIA. Also, they should consider what marketing companies might think about the sport.
