After his accident in Melbourne, Mercedes driver George Russell spoke out in favor of an automated system in F1 that would activate a virtual safety car if necessary.
The Australian Grand Prix ended in a very unpleasant way for George Russell.
The Mercedes pilot lost control of his car while chasing Fernando Alonso, who suddenly slowed down, and crashed hard. His car ended up in the middle of the race track in turn 6 after bouncing off the barrier, and it was no wonder that Russell was worried that one of his rivals would crash into him.
Let us remind you that such impacts can be very dangerous, as shown by the recent fatal incidents that happened in recent years in F2 (Anthoin Hubert’s accident) and in the FRECA series (Dilano van ‘t Hoff’s crash).
Although fortunately no one ran into Russell, the Briton himself has now made it known at the Japanese Grand Prix that he would be in favor of a system in F1 that would always automatically stop racing in such cases.
“It was an incredibly awkward situation,” Russell commented on the events from Melbourne.
“I was in the blind spot of the turn, in a place where you drive at a speed of 250 km/h and right in the race track. I was expecting some kind of disaster,” the 26-year-old competitor described his feelings.
“Fortunately there was a 10-second gap behind me and no one was coming directly behind me. After those 10 seconds, the virtual safety car was then activated. But other times, maybe seven cars can fit into a 10-second interval, if it was the start of the race… so I could have been hit several times, regardless of the yellow flags,” shared Russell’s opinion.
“I think we have to find a way to proceed if someone finds themselves in such a critical situation. For example, so that the automatic system would activate a virtual safety car. Easily within half a second, because in these situations every second counts. We’ve seen this many times in the past at Spa…I think it’s time with the technology we have to make progress in this area,” added the Mercedes driver.
As reported by Autosport, the FIA is looking into Russell’s accident. However, it is likely that they will only proceed with adjustments to turn number 6. Otherwise, the FIA is said to be satisfied with how the safety procedure worked after Russell’s incident. According to the data, digital yellow flags were activated as early as 1.2 seconds after the accident, while marshals started waving flags within six seconds. Double yellow flag status then occurred after 8.1 seconds elapsed.
