Gabriel Bortoleto defended the FIA’s caution regarding discussions about changes to the safety car rules after the Formula 1 British GP. The Brazilian stated that decisions made on impulse can end up creating new problems for the category.
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The debate gained momentum after the race in Silverstone ended under the safety car. Max Verstappen spun at Stowe corner on lap 48, got stuck in the gravel, and caused the race to be neutralized just four laps before the finish.
According to current rules, after the authorization for lapped cars to overtake the safety car, a full lap must be completed before the restart. Since the message to release the cars was issued when Charles Leclerc was already starting lap 51, there was not enough time for a green flag restart before the race ended.
The situation caused even more confusion when the message ‘Safety Car In This Lap’ briefly appeared on the monitors during the penultimate lap. Later, the FIA clarified that the indication was displayed by mistake due to a software failure. Leclerc won the race with Ferrari, ahead of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, while Bortoleto finished eighth for Audi.
Questioned during the Belgian GP press day, the Brazilian downplayed the impact of the situation on his own race: “If there is no safety concern, there is no reason to keep the safety car on track. To be very honest, my race didn’t change at all with or without the safety car. I would probably have finished in that position,” he said.
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Bortoleto also highlighted that the safety car and virtual safety car regulations have worked well in recent years: “I’m sure the FIA is not happy with these things and will want to make changes to improve, but I think the rules have worked quite satisfactorily, so I’m not very worried about changing them,” he said.
For the Audi driver, isolated incidents do not justify a broad overhaul of the regulations: “Mistakes happen from time to time, and unfortunately they happened last race weekend. Life goes on. I’m sure they will try to fix it, and that’s it,” he added.
Despite the caution, Bortoleto admitted that the obligation to allow lapped cars to regain their lap could be reviewed in specific situations: “When there are many laps left, that’s positive because it puts everyone back in the fight, but at the end of the race, when there is a risk of not having time to reorganize the pack, maybe that’s not necessary. If that was one of the reasons for the race to end under the safety car, then that could have been avoided,” concluded the Brazilian driver.
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