[BTCC frog]

So over the last two years, there have been far more red flags than there have been in the past, and while some of this is down to increased concerns about safety, I think it is perhaps more down to the fact that they tend to spice up races. Baku was an example of this, and while it seems that the teams have agreed for races to finish under green flags, I'm not sure this is necessarily a good thing.

The problem with all these red flags is that, in the past, teams had to look at an incident and guess if there was going to be a safety car or a red flag. They generally had to think about the severity of the incident and how long it would take to repair. But now, they also have to think about how much the race director wants there to be action at that particular moment, and I think that brings too much luck into the equation. In the last two years, there have been a huge amount of red flags compared to normal, and many of them haven’t been necessary from a safety perspective. Obviously to suggest that Grosjean’s crash in Bahrain didn’t warrant a red flag would be absolutely ludicrous, and the same with the Mugello restart crash. But from a safety perspective, the Baku one wasn’t necessary and so, from a sporting perspective, should have finished under safety car.

Thinking back to the last brilliant title battle we had, in 2012, that season finished under the safety car, after Paul di Resta crashed in Brazil and there were no complaints about that. If it had happened in 2022, maybe the red flag would have been called. A one-lap restart may have taken place, with Alonso starting second and needing to pass Button to win, and Vettel in sixth needing to stay out of trouble. Yes, that would have been thrilling, but at that point Vettel had won it fair and square and it would be unnecessary and unfair to throw his championship up in the air when he just had to get round the final couple of laps, because of an incident that would have just been a safety car if it had happened at any other time in the season. And I say this as someone who still to this day wishes Alonso had won that championship.

I suppose what I am trying to say is that safety cars and red flags are necessary to neutralise the race, for safety reasons, but they always bring a large amount of luck into play, particularly red flags now with the standing starts. So I believe they should only be used when necessary for safety reasons, and not additionally to spice up the show. But I have never minded safety cars in the past, because they were always used consistently and so it was easier for the teams to predict when they were coming. And maybe in five or ten years time, the same will happen, but with the new conditions. But at the moment, it feels too random whether or not a red flag will be called, and that is increasing the amount that luck plays a part.

Perhaps a good compromise would either be to have red flags as frequently as we have them now, but revert to rolling starts on restarts, or keep them as standing restarts but only use them when they are necessary for safety reasons. I prefer the latter, but think the former is more likely. And maybe it would also be better to ban tyre changes under red flag (wet conditions excepted), as the huge amount of good fortune that Verstappen, Ocon and Ricciardo had in Saudi and the bad luck for Mercedes, Perez and Norris would have been less extreme in the other direction if tyre changes weren't allowed, while Mercedes have also said that the red flag saved Hamilton from retirement in Silverstone.