Lando Norris has called for a change to Formula 1’s Virtual Safety Car rules after he lost out on victory to Kimi Antonelli at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Norris was six seconds ahead of Antonelli when a VSC (Virtual Safety Car) for Lance Stroll’s stricken Aston Martin was called on Lap 15, which was a trigger point for everyone to make a pit stop as you lose less time by pitting under a VSC or Safety Car compared to normal green flag conditions.
However, Norris just passed the pit entry when the VSC came out, whereas his rivals behind could pit as they had not reached that part of the track.
The VSC only lasted two minutes, so Norris was unable to pit on the next lap as the VSC period ended just before he reached the pit entry. He pitted under green flag conditions and dropped to fifth on the track, before recovering to third by the end of the race.
“I was just unlucky. I was the only one on the whole grid to not get a pit stop and lost 20 seconds. This was out of there [the team’s] control, my control. It’s a rule that shouldn’t define a race,” Norris told Sky Sports F1.
“A race should be won by the guy who can put in the best performance. Maybe you take a risk by running long in a stint and maybe you get a Safety Car and things can help because you know that’s one of the big factors.
“But for everyone to get a VSC pit stop and for me to not, it’s just.. unfair. But it’s happened in the past. Others have won from it, I’ve probably won from it in the past. I just don’t think many people have lost a race win over it. It’s frustrating. I don’t feel that’s the way you should lose.”
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Race-winner Antonelli stated he “felt bad” for Norris and the McLaren driver feels everyone should have the opportunity to pit, should a VSC be called.
“We have spoke about it in the past in drivers’ briefings saying they [race control] should leave it out for at least a lap, so it’s equal for everyone,” he continued.
“I was the only one that lost out and I lost out on about 20 seconds of race time and that’s not how it should be.”
McLaren chief executive Zak Brown told Sky Sports F1: “They [the VSCs] were cruel today twice!
“Lando was gone, the team did a great job and the VSC came out a couple of seconds after we went by and went away a couple of seconds before we could pit.
“Nothing we could have done. Great to hear Lando’s radio message to ‘shrug it off’. That was our race by 20 or 25 seconds. He was dominant, he was gone. Managing, great tyre wear – a league of his own.”
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Why did Norris not stay out and pit later?
McLaren had the option to not pit Norris straight away so he could potentially build a gap to his rivals, particularly as Charles Leclerc stayed out and was holding up Antonelli.
However, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella says Norris’ medium tyres were too worn and he would not have enough pace to pull away.
“We considered staying out but you have to accept the fact that now you’re on relatively used medium tyres and the people behind you will be on new hards, so you’re never going to open a gap on people on new hards,” said Stella.
“Therefore, we kind of needed to accept that was what we should have done. And the fact that it was incredibly unfortunate. Sometimes we talk about being unlucky. I think at times that being unlucky is used for too many applications, but in this case, it’s almost a mathematical definition of being unlucky.”
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Change the rules or part of racing?
Virtual Safety Cars were introduced to Formula 1 in 2015 following Jules Bianchi’s tragic accident at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix.
An indirect consequence of them is drivers drive to a delta which sees them go 30 to 40 per cent slower compared to green flag conditions.
The same rules initially apply when there’s a full Safety Car, before the field gets bunched up, but it means a sporting advantage can be gained by pitting.
“It is racing and it’s happened, so I can’t really complain about it. I can be upset about it, but I can’t really complain about it,” said Norris.
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“I think there are things, because we have spoken about it in the past several times, about how it can be at least covered for one lap or everyone has the opportunity to do the pit stops, or you just block the pit entry and no one can box apart from if you have a puncture or something.
“So, I think there are a few things you could do to make it more simple and more fair for everyone, but that’s a bigger discussion. This is not something I can just ask for.”
Norris’ maiden win at the 2024 Miami Grand Prix came with the help of a Safety Car which enabled him to have a cheaper pit stop against Max Verstappen.
But he pointed out that a rule change would require all drivers to come together to agree on new regulations.
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“I think we would all want, but there’s a lot more to it. Depending on if it’s raining and there’s a VSC and you’re on slicks, does it mean you can box or not? So it’s a complicated subject,” he said.
“But I think as a collection of drivers, if we all talk about it, I think everyone wants the same thing, and that’s just fairness for everyone. Of course I’m complaining about it today, [but] I could benefit from it next week, next time out, and I could win because of it.
“I have to take it on the chin, but I just hope it doesn’t happen to anyone again because it’s just not how you should lose a race.”
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