The outcome of last weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix was effectively decided by Lance Stroll’s retirement on lap 15.
The Virtual Safety Car was deployed while the Aston Martin driver parked up in a run-off area. It only lastedseconds, but as far as Lando Norris was concerned its timing could not have been worse.
Norris was leading when the VSC period began seconds after he passed the pit lane entrance. Andrea Kimi Antonelli, second, was able to pit during the VSC period, gaining a useful advantage by pitting while the race was neutralised.
Every other driver on the track had the same opportunity to pit, with one exception: Norris. The VSC period ended moments before he reached the pit lane entrance.
Afterwards Norris expressed frustration that the race’s only VSC period was timed in such a way that it gave everyone apart from him a chance to make a low-cost pit stop. While it’s certainly the case he was unlucky, should F1 try to prevent a similar situation happening again?
The Virtual Safety Car problem
In F1, like other series such as IndyCar, Safety Car periods can often have a disruptive effect on drivers’ strategies. They may occur at a more advantageous time for some drivers than others (as was the case when Norris scored his first win in Miami two years ago).
However the Virtual Safety Car, which F1 introduced in 2015, created a new kind of problem. During a classic Safety Car period, every driver has the opportunity to make a pit stop. But as a VSC period can be much shorter, it is possible that only some drivers may have the chance to pit.
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This is more likely to happen in certain circumstances. For example, when the track is very long, or if conditions are wet creating longer lap times, or when the field is tightly compressed after a start or restart.
There have only been a few cases of drivers being unable to pit during a VSC period since the rules were introduced. One notable example occured in the 2024 Brazilian Grand Prix, where all but four drivers were able to pit during a VSC period.
Possible solutions
No change
The striking thing about Norris’s misfortune on Sunday was how unusual it is. As these situations are so rare, it is not worth creating special rules to deal with them, which would create further complexity and scope for unintended consequences.
Introduce a minimum duration for VSC periods
It is unusual for VSC periods to last less than a lap in duration. When they do, it is usually only by a few seconds. Introducing a minimum length for VSC periods would ensure no driver suffers the same misfortune as Norris but make little difference to the majority of VSC deployments.
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Forbid tyre changes during VSC periods
Other series which have similar mandatory tyre change rules to F1 do not allow drivers to fulfil the requirement to change tyres during a VSC period. This is the case in Formula 2, and F1 could simply adopt the same rule. Closing the pit lane entrance during a VSC period would have the same effect, though this would prevent drivers pitting for damage repairs or other reasons.
Introduce a lower pit lane speed limit during VSC periods
Drivers are able to gain an advantage by pitting during a VSC period because the speed of the cars on track is reduced while the pit lane speed limit stays the same. Reducing the pit lane speed limit could address this, though it would have to be very low, especially at tracks where the lower 60kph speed limit is used by default, and imposing it on cars in the pit lane when the VSC is deployed could be complicated.
Abolish the Virtual Safety Car
Revert to using the classic Safety Car for all interruptions to the race. This would likely result in longer disruptions to races and compress the field more frequently.
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I find the VSC preferable to the regular Safety Car because it does a better job of preserving the competition as it stands, and not significantly altering the gaps between cars. It is unfortunate that in some, limited circumstances, it does create the possibility for some drivers to suffer a significant disadvantage.
Introducing a minimum duration for VSC periods would seem the easiest and fairest way to tackle the problem, which is unlikely to add significant extra delays or cause knock-on problems.
You say
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