FIA hits back at Max Verstappen’s ‘turtle’ safety car criticism

The FIA has responded to Max Verstappen’s criticism of the Aston Martin basic safety motor vehicle at the Australian Grand Prix.

The reigning drivers’ earth champion accused the basic safety auto of getting also sluggish in Melbourne.

He said: “Unbelievable. With that motor vehicle, to drive 140kmh on the back straight the place there was not a harmed auto anymore, I really do not understand why we have to generate so bit by bit.

“We have to look into. For positive, the Mercedes safety car or truck is faster simply because of the excess aero. The Aston Martin is definitely gradual. It certainly requires a lot more grip because our tyres have been stone cold.”

Charles Leclerc appeared to put up with some understeer coming out of the ultimate corner before the restart, illustrating Verstappen’s stage that they were being having difficulties to get any warmth into their tyres because of to the basic safety car’s pace.

But the FIA has insisted that the problem of the safety car or truck is not to retain the pace of the race.

A statement read: “In gentle of latest remarks pertaining to the tempo of the FIA System 1 protection vehicle, the FIA would like to reiterate the principal purpose of the FIA Components 1 basic safety vehicle is, of study course, not outright velocity but the safety of the drivers, marshals and officials.

“The basic safety car treatments choose into account a number of targets, based on the incident in problem, together with the requirement to ‘bunch up’ the field, negotiate an incident recovery or debris on track in a safe and sound way and alter the pace dependent on recovery actions that may be ongoing in a different aspect of the observe.

“The speed of the safety auto is thus normally dictated by Race Control and not confined by the abilities of the security automobiles, which are bespoke significant-effectiveness autos organized by two of the world’s prime suppliers, outfitted to deal with changeable monitor ailments at all periods and driven by a vastly professional and able driver and co-driver.

“The affect of the pace of the protection car or truck on the functionality of the vehicles following is a secondary consideration, as the impact is equal among all rivals who, as is usually the circumstance, are dependable for driving in a harmless manner at all instances in accordance to the circumstances of their vehicle and the circuit.”