F1’s standing restart procedure changed following crashes and “dangerous” near-miss

Formula 1 has confirmed a change to its procedure for standing restarts following the incidents which occured at the Australian Grand Prix.

The race stewards recommended a review of the procedures for formation laps prior to standing restarts following a near-miss which involved several drivers at the Australian Grand Prix. Zhou Guanyu, Valtteri Bottas, Logan Sargeant and Kevin Magnussen had to brake suddenly when they caught up to the pack ahead of a standing restart early in the race.

Zhou and Sergio Perez called the incident “dangerous” during the race.

Several drivers also complained the arrangement for standing restarts meant they were unable to warm their tyres sufficiently. Race winner Max Verstappen said his tyres were “really, really cold” at the final restart, where a trio of incidents occured.

As a result, several drivers ran too deep at the first corner, leading to a series of incidents. Carlos Sainz Jnr collided with Fernando Alonso, while Logan Sargeant hit Nyck de Vries. Pierre Gasly also went off at the first corner, then made contact with his team mate Esteban Ocon when he rejoined.

In response the FIA race director Niels Wittich has confirmed a revision to the standing restart procedure which will come into effect from this weekend, including Sunday’s grand prix and today’s sprint race.

In the event of a standing restart being given following a race suspension, the Safety Car will be sent out of the pit lane 30 seconds in advance of the field leaving. The Safety Car’s lights will be extinguished immediately after the start, allowing the field to make their way around the track quickly enough to generate sufficient heat in their tyres.

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