02/06/2021
NEWS STORY
Haas team boss, Guenther Steiner admits to being no fan of the proposal to introduce an IndyCar style rule to F1 whereby drivers who crash in qualifying lose their times.
The move follows the incident in Q3 in Monaco in which Charles Leclerc retained pole position even though he subsequently crashed-out meaning that his timer could not be beaten. While it is accepted that the crash was an accident, there is talk of F1 introducing the rule.
"Like everything when everything arises, the FIA, Formula 1 and the teams look at everything and consider it on its merits," said Michael Masi in Monaco.
"I know the IndyCar rule, which is also a rule in a number of other FIA international series and domestic championships around the world," he added. "We'll look at it, and, together with all of the key stakeholders, determine if it's suitable or not."
Referring specifically to Leclerc's crash, he said: "Having looked it, looked at the data and also listening to the team communication, I don't think any driver would go out there to severely damage their car to that degree, in any circumstance, because of the consequences that may arise out of that."
With the proposal certain to be on the agenda again this weekend courtesy of the fact that Baku is another street track where such incidents can happen, not forgetting Sky Sport's determination not to let the mater rest, Guenther Steiner admits that he is against the idea.
"I wouldn't be a big fan of that one if it was to be implemented," admits the Italian. "It obviously came up because Charles Leclerc hit the wall pretty hard on his last run in qualifying, but obviously it was not intentional.
"If it had been, the FIA would have seen that," he continued, "it's very easy to see that on the data if somebody's done something intentionally.
"I don't think there's a need to start this discussion. What if instead of a red flag there was only a yellow flag and some people slow down and not some others - do we still cancel the lap of the guy who brought the yellow out?
"It's worked for a long time as is, and it's happened once, especially in Monaco where it's very easy to crash by the way, I don't think it's a problem we need to fix at the moment.
"It's part of the risk you take though if you go out late in qualifying. If people had gone out earlier maybe it wouldn't have happened. I think if somebody does something on purpose there should be consequences, but this wasn't the case in Monaco."