Barrichello and the red light

[GolddustMini]

the stop and go was for entering the pits under SC pitlane closed status, the subsequent DQ was for the red light infringement, its 2 seperate incidents whcih happened at oposite ends of the pitlane approximately 25 seconds apart!

[gachjoel]

But howcome they didn`t Black Flag straight away for the red light infringement.
Thats the usual procedure

[GolddustMini]

Originally Posted by gachjoel

But howcome they didn`t Black Flag straight away for the red light infringement.
Thats the usual procedure

not a clue, you;d expect them to flag him within a few laps as happened to massa and montoya in canada, why there was a delay i havent a clue,

[BootsOntheSide]

Giving him a stop-go was an awful decision, as it was a clear-cut disqualification offence. Complete farce in the pitstop - no need to release him in a hurry, and little excuse for Rubens to misjudge a straightforward situation like this.

[Super Hans]

Originally Posted by BootsOntheSide

Giving him a stop-go was an awful decision, as it was a clear-cut disqualification offence.

Is taking on fuel whilst the pitlane is closed a disqualification offence? I would hope not, as any situation which sees a driver have to choose between disqualification and being stranded out on track with an empty tank through no fault of his own would be more than a little unfair.

Regardless, he was eventually disqualified for exiting the pit lane through a red light, which is fair enough.

[Jimmy Magnusson]

He didn't get a stop-go for running the red light, it was for entering the pits when they were closed. Same happened in Canada last year; some people ran against red lights and were disqualified, while those who entered the closed pitlane got a 10-second stop and go.

[Ralf's Girl]

Wasn't the stop-go specifically for refuelling under the safety car? The pitlane is closed for refuelling when the safety car comes out, but they're allowed in if the car is damaged. I really don't think it's a disqualification offence - certainly, as soon as they did it, Martin Brundle named the rule and said the penalty would be a stop-go, which it was.

[Suze]

Yes RG the ten second stop-go was specifically for refuelling under the safety car - agree that's not a DQ offence. It was leaving the pitlane when the red light was on which I understand was the DQ offence....

[gachjoel]

But when he left the pit lane,the lights were on RED.
he should have waited for the green light before leaving the pit lane.

He didn`t,so therefore it`s a D Q

[jnr blue 91]

you have to laugh really at his amatuer mistake when all itv commented on about him was how he was the most experienced driver

[JeremySmith]

Easy mistake to make in the heat of a race..when your ears are full pit radio!

[Ralf's Girl]

Maybe his ears should have been full of somebody telling him to stop at the red light.

[JeremySmith]

Those lights should pulse.. ..LOL...It is possible though that depending on where the sun is he might not have seen those lights at all..

[Burnsie]

Originally Posted by Ralf's Girl

Maybe his ears should have been full of somebody telling him to stop at the red light.

So what conclusion are we all arriving at? That Barrichello ran the red light because his vast driving experience wasn't enough, and neither was Ross Brawn's vast tactical and technical experience?

[Super Hans]

Originally Posted by Suze

Yes RG the ten second stop-go was specifically for refuelling under the safety car - agree that's not a DQ offence. It was leaving the pitlane when the red light was on which I understand was the DQ offence....

That's correct.

I think that's the same point RG was making to be honest.

[Ralf's Girl]

Yep. There just seemed to be some confusion over exactly what the penalty was for - whether it was for entering the pitlane at all or for the refuelling itself.

[Bononi]

Anyway... he was happy for the starting the season like this...

[foedude]

Originally Posted by Ralf's Girl

Yep. There just seemed to be some confusion over exactly what the penalty was for - whether it was for entering the pitlane at all or for the refuelling itself.

It seems to me the problem here is with the rule rather than this actual incident we saw two drivers lose what were hard fought and honest positions in the race due to saftey car intervention maybe the use of the "saftey car" and the rules around when it is used and what other rules are used at the same time should be looked at remember every car on track is going to run low on fuel at some point in the race, anyhow it was a great drive in an improved but still uncompetitive car well done Rubbens.

[mjstallard]

Agreed foedude. It'd be a great shame for someone if one day the WDC is decided as a result of safety car rules based misfortune. Today showed that it's entirely possible for this to happen.

[Napoleon]

It's a bit ridiculous how a driver has failed to notice the pit lane red lights again. I agree that they have a lot going on - their thoughts are probably all focussed on flying out of the pit lane as quickly as possible to get ahead of whoever was behind them instead of on two rather small lights - but it shouldn't really happen with all the radio communication they do. Perhaps there needs to be some sort of giant automated lollypop that comes down when the safety car is out?

[Ralf's Girl]

Originally Posted by foedude

It seems to me the problem here is with the rule rather than this actual incident we saw two drivers lose what were hard fought and honest positions in the race due to saftey car intervention maybe the use of the "saftey car" and the rules around when it is used and what other rules are used at the same time should be looked at remember every car on track is going to run low on fuel at some point in the race.

I agree, there's an issue that needs to be looked at with the closure of the pitlane when the safety car comes out - do we really want to see a load of cars running out of fuel on the track because they're not allowed to pit? Barrichello's disqualification is a separate issue, but I do think drivers should be allowed to pit for fuel throughout the safety car period.

[gachjoel]

They are allowed to fuel up during the saftey car period,
BUT the safety car has to have the pack behind it and under control.

During safety car period you can enter the pits at anytime as long as it is for safety reasons,
not sure who they were,but this happened after the 1st corner shunt.
i do believe they came in for new nose cones.
But no fuel was put in those cars.

[TFHarv]

The SC rules are a bit daft really. Lets say your due in the pits next lap and as you get round to the Pit lane entrance the safety car emerges and you are not allowed to re-fuel even though if you go round again your going to run dry and be out of the race....

As for the red lights being ignored. If I had just dragged one of my team down the pit straight after being old everything was fine by the lollipop man. I would be kind of distracted with making sure the car was not on fire from spilt fuel or broken parts, getting on the radio to check the guys condition and finally once I had managed to get all that done would if I was still within the pitlane look at the lights.

I saw two problems that caused him to exit the pits without stopping. One the SC was out and pits were closed for fuel ( why were they refuelling unless for the very reason mentioned above ) and second the lollipop man was on lsd of something and couldn't see a fuel pump and mechanic fueling the car from 3 paces away ><.

To blame Barrichello for this is rather bad form. I applaud him for being more concerned with everything around him than a daft ruling such as red lights stopping pit exit. Wouldn't a big SC board be a much better idea?

[tristancliffe]

Simply - all teams should leave one or two laps reserve in the tank in case of safety car. Pitting at the absolute limit in terms of fuel might be 'quicker', but then a DQd car rarely beats an ever so slightly slower car.

[Jam35]

Well, there is a fairer alternative to the safety car rule, at least as far as refueling goes, viz what was done at Detroit in 1982 when there were crashed cars blocking the track: red flag it and aggregate the times.

Of course, that brings up a whole different load of unfairnesses.