In an effort to make pitstops safer and stop the mechanics from releasing cars in an unsafe condition, FIA decided to add a latency into the pistop procedures. This way the mechanics can't give a green light from their corner before their action is actually completed. Now that the new rules are in effect, we have seen more pitstop mishaps in a few races than in a long time. There has been a drastic increase in confusion on the pitlane, which I think is a bad thing for safety. Any kind of confusion can lead to a dangerous situation, and overall I would say the pitlane is not any safer now than it was before these artificials latencies. I think the change was unwarranted because pitlane safety was not a big issue whatsoever, and now the situation isn't any better. I don't even want to get into the discussion of who this benefits and who it hinders, all I can say that I am not convinced this is a good safety measure.
You could argue that a car getting stuck in the pitbox can't be called a dangerous situation, but when it happens it will always lead to panicked decision-making. I'm afraid we might see situations where a wheel is not properly attached and the green signal is not given, but instead of figuring out the issue, a mechanic will just assume that "it must be the new rule" and override the safety system. What are your thoughts?
Edited by Topsu, 26 September 2021 - 15:29.