Safety car and Monaco

[Yoong Montoya]

I've just had a thought after seeing the Safety Car again in the last race.


Was a safety car ever used in Monaco? If not, is there a safety car there at all?

[Lee Janotta]

Not sure, but yes, there is. Taki Inoue was rammed by the safety car during qualifying in '95.

[Adam43]

The safety car once crashed at Monaco!

However, I don't think it has ever been used in a race situation.

[Sodemo]

I think the safety car crashed in 2001 or 2002 I can't remember which, 2001 I think.

[MichaelC]

It was 2000, and it was the medical car being driven at the time by Alex Ribero. Left poor Sid Watkins with a couple of broken ribs.
Apparenly Alex went belting into the first corner, and hit the brakes waiting for the ABS, which promptly failed and left them going straight on into the armco

[Wrex]

It does pose an interesting question though. The safety car is used more than ever nowadays, and with the new qualifying format it could used for a gamble tactic for a smaller team.

As for qual/race fuel strategies, Monaco (and also Hungry) will be the most crucial for the teams. Go heavy and you could be chasing a Minardi around the track. Go too light and not only could have the same problem, but the safety car could really ruin your day.

The way I see it, the top teams will have to run light (so as not caught behind a little guy), and the lower teams should be heavy to try and cash in from a saftey car.

Either way this traditional 'processional' race should get alot more interesting, and I cant think of a more important qualifying session.

[avsfan733]

Well I am willing to bet the whole strategery goes out the window if the safety car comes out and takes you out

[bcobbus]

It is hard to believe that the safety car is not used more at Monaco, with all the drivers hitting the armco!

Crashing the safety car, or pace car as we Yanks call it, is nothing new. Has anybody seen the video of the pace car that crashed at Indy in the early 70's and took out a photographers scaffolding! Thankfully no one was killed! But the site of a Cadillac spining towards you at a high rate of speed must have been something!

[Sodemo]

Renault will crush all at Monaco and Hungary this year.

[climb]

Just a question: why should safety car be used this year in Monaco?
Ev'ry year there are plenty of crashes,over there; if in the past they never found it necessary to use the safety car, why should they now?
Evidently, in Monaco they are familiar with different methods, who anyways prove efficient

[Adam43]

CLimb has a point. Crashes involving one car tend to be quickly dealt with by a crane. This has been the case for many years. In some ways Monaco is much better for clearing up a crashed car.

[Bononi]

That's right.

The cranes are always so close to the track, there are almost no escape areas, that's easy to use them.

But there always can be major crashes involving two or more cars...

[Bleu]

Yes, there has never been a safety car period in Monaco race. Taki Inoue's crash happened between Saturday practice sessions, when his car was on the way back to the pits (he stopped on circuit in the first session)

These are SC periods that I remember:
1993 Brazil (rain and many cars on the track)
1993 Britain (Badoer stopped at Woodcote)
1994 Imola (Lehto&Lamy crashed at start)
1994 Suzuka (heavy rain)
1994 Suzuka (restart behind SC)
1995 Belgium (heavy rain)
1996 Argentina (Badoer rolled)
1996 Belgium (Verstappen's huge crash)
1997 Argentina (start crash of Schumacher&Coulthard)
1997 Canada (Katayama crashed)
1997 Canada (Panis crashed, red flag after couple of laps)
1997 Britain (Katayama spun just after the start at Woodcote)
1997 Belgium (start behind SC)
1998 Canada (restart crash of Trulli&Alesi)
1998 Canada (Diniz took grass on the track)
1998 Canada (Salo crashed badly)
1998 Britain (heavy rain)
1998 Austria (crashes at 1st and 2nd corner)
1998 Belgium (restart crash of Häkkinen&Herbert)
1998 Belgium (Fisichella crashed with Nakano)
1999 Australia (Villeneuve lost rear wing and was left in dangerous position)
1999 Australia (Zanardi crashed)
1999 Canada (start crash of Trulli&Alesi)
1999 Canada (Zonta crashed)
1999 Canada (Villeneuve crashed)
1999 Canada (Frentzen crashed, finish behind SC)
1999 France (heavy rain)
1999 Britain (de la Rosa stalled)
1999 Britain (Villeneuve stopped at Woodcote)
1999 Europe (start crash of Wurz&Diniz)
2000 Australia (de la Rosa crashed)
2000 Austria (start crash of M.Schumacher&Trulli&Fisichella)
2000 Germany (the idiot on the track)
2000 Germany (crash of Diniz&Alesi)
2000 Belgium (start behind SC)
2000 Italy (huge crash at 1st lap, marshal died)
2000 Malaysia (start crash of de la Rosa&Diniz&Heidfeld)
2001 Australia (crash of R.Schumacher&Villeneuve, marshal died)
2001 Malaysia (heavy rain)
2001 Brazil (Häkkinen stalled on the grid)
2001 Austria (4 cars stalled on the grid)
2001 Canada (Barrichello and Montoya crashed)
2001 Germany (start crash of M.Schumacher and Burti, red flag on 2nd lap)
2001 Belgium (huge crash of Irvine and Burti, red flag a lap later)
2002 Australia (big start crash)
2002 Australia (Trulli crashed)
2002 Austria (Panis's engine failure on the start/finish straight
2002 Austria (huge crash of Heidfeld and Sato)
2002 Canada (Villeneuve stopped on circuit)
2003 Australia (Firman and Barrichello crashed)
2003 Australia (Webber stopped on circuit)
2003 Brazil (start behind SC)
2003 Brazil (Firman and Panis crashed, debris on the track)
2003 Brazil (M.Schumacher crashed)
2003 Brazil (Button crashed)
2003 Brazil (Webber crashed, red flag after Alonso hit debris of Webber's car)

It looks like that Australia, Canada and Austria offer most SC drive. Belgium was also one of those races.

[Bleu]

And I missed the last one

2003 Spain (start crash of Pizzonia and Räikkönen)

Btw, it was the first SC period in Barcelona.

Other current tracks in that list are Monaco, Hungaroring and Indianapolis.

[RWC]

'my name is Bleu and i'm a 'safetycaroholic' LOL
sorry bleu,good list

[Adam43]

Nice one Bleu! From your list here are the number of satey car periods (in brackets number of safety car races) per year

1993 2 (2)
1994 3 (2)
1995 1 (1)
1996 2 (2)
1997 5 (4)
1998 7 (4)
1999 10 (5)
2000 7 (6)
2001 7 (7)
2002 5 (3)
2003 8 (3) so far!

[cos]

Originally posted by Bleu

2002 Austria (Panis's engine failure on the start/finish straight

Don't remember that one, but it seems odd that a safety car comes out for an engine failure but it doesn't come out for Kimi/Pizzonia's startline shunt, or Webber's accident alone in Brazil. Sounds a bit IRL-esque to me

[Bleu]

Originally posted by cos
Don't remember that one, but it seems odd that a safety car comes out for an engine failure but it doesn't come out for Kimi/Pizzonia's startline shunt, or Webber's accident alone in Brazil. Sounds a bit IRL-esque to me

At that point it was a good decision, beacuse Panis's car was in dangerous position.

Heidfeld/Sato-crash happened on the first lap after that earlier SC period.

[Red]

Originally posted by cos
Don't remember that one, but it seems odd that a safety car comes out for an engine failure but it doesn't come out for [...] Webber's accident alone in Brazil.

Actually the SC came out after Webber's accident. For 5 seconds. Later the race was stopped because Alonso's accident.

[BootsOntheSide]

Not sure which races Cos is watching, the safety car came out for both the incidents he mentions. The field was preparing to queue up behind the safety car when Alonso ploughed into the Webber wreck.