Ferrari told Vettel to stop immediately for 'safety reasons'
Ferrari Formula 1 team principal Mattia Binotto says Sebastian Vettel was instructed to stop his car immediately following his MGU-K failure because it was the safest thing ꦅto do.
Vettel came to a halt in his SF90 with an engine-related issue shortly after his pit stop on Lap 28 and was to🌺ld to stop his car straightaway by Ferrari as he peeled off into the Turn 16 run-off area.
Ferrari Formula 1 team principal Mattia Binotto says Sebastian Vettel was instructed to stop his car immediately following his MGU-K failure becauꦺse it was the safest thing to do.
Vettel ca🅺me to a halt in his SF90 with an engine-related issue shortly after his pit stop on Lap 28 and was told to stop his car straightaway by Ferrari as he peeled off into the Turn 16 run-off area.
The incident prompted a Virtual Safety Car to be deplo🐈yed, which ironically played into the hands of Ferrari’s rivals Mercedes, enabling🃏 the long-running Lewis Hamilton to retain his lead with what was effectively a free pit stop amid the VSC speed restrictions.
“We got a problem on the power unit, on the hybrid side of the power unit, and we got a loss of in♎sulation oಌn the car,” Binotto explained.
“For safety r⛎easons, we called [Seb✱astian Vettel] to stop immediately.
“Of course it’s a shame, because 100 metres later was the p💟it lane, but it was the safest action we could do for🉐 Seb, and the safety aspects.”
VSC a ‘very simple’ call - FIA
FIA race director Michael Masi said there “wasn’t even a second thought” over the decision to deploy a VSC, given the unsafe nature of Vettel’s F🧸errari and its positioning on ♛the circuit.
“The car was unsafe, effectively from ܫan electronics point of view, and it stayed unsafe until the eꦕnd of the race,” Masi added.
“So, to recover it in😼 the safest possible manner, and putting marshals out there to do so, it was a very simple decision to put out the VSC.
“Moving it back into that hole, b♚ecause of the electrical issue that there was w🧸ith the car, we made sure it was that it was well and truly in a safe position until going forward.
“Because of the electronics, the green li🥂ght on top for our indication, and immediatel💝y our guys came over and said the car is unsafe from an electronics point of view.
“So, fr🀅om our end we need to be far more cautious. It’s a very simple VSC. There’s a reason why there’s a whole load of tecpro there, it’s because people can go off. It wasn’t even a second t🌳hought.”
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