Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB19 leads Second placed Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team W14, Third placed Fernando Alonso of Spain driving the (14) Aston Martin AMR23 Mercedes and the rest of the field at the second restart during the F1 Grand Prix of Australia at Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit on April 02, 2023 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
Formula 1 Hot News

F1: FIA agrees to new red flag restart procedure

Posted by AR1 staff

–by Mark Cipolloni–

The FIA has agreed to modify the red flag restart procedure for today’s Sprint in Baku and likely any race henceforth.

Drivers complained about cold tires at the restart in Melbourne. Now, the Safety Car will leave 30s early for the formation lap rather than the safety car leading the field around for most of the lap before switching its lights off, it will now depart 30 seconds ahead of the pack.

“This procedure will mean that the safety car will leave the pit lane and then immediately extinguish its lights so that when the field exits the pit lane 30 seconds later, the pace will be dictated by the lead car on the lap to the grid.

“This updated procedure has been implemented to allow the drivers to manage their tire temperatures more effectively ahead of the standing restart.”