Change(s) made to F1 safety car restarts for 2019

Overtaking will no longer be allowed between the first safety car line and the start/finish line (control line).

The World Motor Sport Council announced today that new safety car regulations will "keep cars under yellow flag conditions until they reach the control line after the safety car returns to the pits."
https://www.fia.com/...il-decisions-12

I wonder if "keep cars under yellow flag conditions" also means there will be changes to how the leader "may dictate the pace" when the safety car lights are extinguished. "Further details will be available at fia.com," so let's wait and see.

Overtaking between the first safety car line (which is usually at the start of pit entry) and the start/finish line has been allowed since 2010.

But not when the safety car enters the pit lane on the last lap – clarified after this famous incident in Monaco that year:

It does seem to bring F1 back in line with everyone else. Hopefully it’s the end of the leader backing the pack up and then bolting half a lap before the green flag.

Schumacher was robbed.

 

Under any reasonable interpretation of the 2010 regulations his move was legal. Hence why the FIA had to rewrite the rules to make it illegal.

 

 

I don't have any opinion or understand the reason for this, I just wanted to vent on something that still bugs me.

It seems that the "dictate the pace" rule was introduced in 1998. I don't remember what F1 safety car restarts used to look like in 1997.

Agree that under the strictest interpretation of the rules, yes, Schumi was robbed. That pass shouldn’t have been able to happen in the first place, though.

Does this mean that all cars accelerate when they hit the SC line in turn, or are they all free to go when the leader hits the SC line? Because I know which one of these I’d rather it be.

Schumacher was robbed.

 

Under any reasonable interpretation of the 2010 regulations his move was legal. Hence why the FIA had to rewrite the rules to make it illegal.

 

 

I don't have any opinion or understand the reason for this, I just wanted to vent on something that still bugs me.

 

 

Absolutely - it was a masterstroke which showed the man was still acutely aware of every detail in F1 - including the rule not even the FIA understood. 

Sadly, I don't think there will be any changes to how the leader "may dictate the pace."

In fact, I think the WMSC simply ratified changes to the 2019 sporting regulations that were published in October.

The only interesting change is this bit:

2018:
"With the exception of the cases listed under a) to h) below, no driver may overtake another car on the track, including the safety car, until he passes the first safety car line for the first time when the safety car is returning to the pits."

2019:
"With the exception of the cases listed under a) to h) below, no driver may overtake another car on the track, including the safety car, until he passes the Line (see Article 5.3) for the first time after the safety car has returned to the pits."


There are no changes to "When the safety car is returning to the pits it may be overtaken by cars on the track once it has reached the first safety car line" (39.8 e).
And no changes to how "the first car in line behind the safety car may dictate the pace" (39.13) after the SAFETY CAR IN THIS LAP message.

Weren't we supposed to have gridded SC restarts this year? 

Weren't we supposed to have gridded SC restarts this year? 

as an option - yes...

Schumacher was robbed.

 

Under any reasonable interpretation of the 2010 regulations his move was legal. Hence why the FIA had to rewrite the rules to make it illegal.

 

 

I don't have any opinion or understand the reason for this, I just wanted to vent on something that still bugs me.

 

Absolutely. Never did understand why the last lap should be different to any other. If the track is clear, it's clear, no?

 

I think the perceived issue was that, in a hypothetical scenario where the track between SC line 1 and the first corner is not clear, or if the medical car is already engaged with another serious incident, or if there's another good reason why they shouldn't be allowed to race, then the rules would nevertheless dictate that the SC must pit before the end of the final lap. But of course, there's nothing to stop the Race Director, at his absolute discretion, calling for DWY flags in the last sector to prevent overtaking. It needn't be written into the rules, and overtaking needn't be prohibited if the relevant bit of the track is clear.

Agree that under the strictest interpretation of the rules, yes, Schumi was robbed. That pass shouldn’t have been able to happen in the first place, though.

Does this mean that all cars accelerate when they hit the SC line in turn, or are they all free to go when the leader hits the SC line? Because I know which one of these I’d rather it be.

 

it would have to be the first. None of the back markers would know when the leader passed the line.

 

Effectively neutering the re-start isn't it.

I've always thought that the leader should be made to stay at a certain speed - say between 120KPH-180KPH after the safety car lights have gone out, no weaving allowed (for anyone) and then the leader accelerates whenever he/she wants and once you clear that 180KPH you have to go back to race pace. 

 

Don't really care where the line is to overtake. 

Of all the things they change, this is it?

 

Not the rubbish oversight on car distances between competitors? The obvious perversion of the start by team-mates conspiring to give the leader a gap? Not the idiotic idea that the leader can slow to a crawl just because for some unknown reason the safety car can't simply leave the track for a few seconds to let the pack pass but has to rush to the pitlane?

 

Good job, FIA!

Step 1: big flashy lights on the pace car that mean "no passing"
Step 2: when the lights go out, we are now back to green flag racing.

Done.