Bosses vote down 'minimum pitstop time' proposal
With opposition to the minimum time pitstops by the Formula One teams, at least one item came out of the meeting at the Hungaroring -new penalty if a team releases their driver without four properly attached wheels.
Jul.26 (GMM) Safety talks to mandate a minimum time for pitstops in future have fallen at the first hurdle, it has emerged.
Formula One race director Charlie Whiting met with team bosses in Hungary on Thursday to discuss the matter, as the FIA moves to further bolster safety after a pitlane cameraman was hospitalised in Germany recently.
But according to reports by NBC and the German magazine Auto Motor und Sport, the team bosses did not support the proposed move.
"We are all in agreement on improving safety," Ferrari's Fernando Alonso is quoted as saying. "However, finding the way to do it is difficult to agree on."
World champion Sebastian Vettel admitted his opposition to the idea of a minimum pitstop time.
"The pitstops in Formula One are a big part of the spectacle," he is quoted by Speed Week.
"It is also a competition between team to team, with the mechanics trying to be faster than the others.
"It's always clear that there is some risk in motor sport.
"Clearly if suddenly every driver had to go through a certain corner at a certain speed, then I don't know how many people would watch that.
"Safety is very important, but the sporting element must also be preserved," the Red Bull driver insisted.
What did emerge from Thursday's Hungaroring meeting is that drivers now face ten-position grid penalties for the following race if they are released from a pitstop without four properly attached wheels.
Share Or Save This Story
The season is still very long - Rosberg
Jules Bianchi's father speaks of family's continued hopes
Sauber under no illusions about constructors' position
Fernando Alonso: F1 Hungarian GP an "important" lift for Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso delivers first verdict on Aston Martin F1 car upgrades
The expectation on Aston Martin's shoulders as it prepares to debut its Hungarian GP updates
Ferrari and Peugeot begin work on updated hypercars for 2027 WEC
Ferrari surprised by "spicy" Red Bull strategy that yielded Max Verstappen second in Hungary
Why Charles Leclerc’s battle of the brakes has left him trailing Lewis Hamilton
Kyle Larson's family will determine his retirement and post-retirement schedule
Why Hendrick Motorsports believes in the development of Corey Day
“This is not our history” - Inside the Race debates purpose of Brickyard 400
Why Sami Pajari believes Estonia win won’t make Rally Finland “any easier”
Lando Norris and Max Verstappen overdelivered in Hungary - and that's symbolic of their F1 2026 seasons
Where to next after the Bahraysian Grand Prix?
How Lando Norris shrugged off his first-lap error to deliver on McLaren's Hungarian GP pace
When plucky private entrants could afford to go GP racing, and how F1 changed with the rise of commercialisation
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments