Red Flags F1: Lewis Hamilton has spoken out against the FIA, alleging them of using red flags in races to increase excitement levels.
The last two Grands Prix in Monza and Mugello have seen a combined three red flags, a rare feature in Formula 1 racing. This has led Mercedes driver and reigning champion Lewis Hamilton to question the usage of these flags so frequents. He starts by saying he doesn’t want to speak out too much against the regulatory authorities.
“I don’t know. I don’t want to overstep the mark.”
A scary moment on Sunday at Mugello, which resulted in a red flag 😮@Anto_Giovinazzi and three other drivers thankfully walked away unscathed 💥#TuscanGP 🇮🇹 #F1 pic.twitter.com/67Xyzan58B
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 14, 2020
But eventually, in trademark Lewis Hamilton-style goes on full sarcastic and claims that if there is a piece of paper on the track, there would be a red flag. This is a very controversial statement, it would be interesting to see how the Race Control team respond to it.
“I know the fans were excited with the restart and everything at Monza. So it seemed like they… if there’s a piece of paper on the track they’re going to put the red flag out and do a restart.”
Red Flags make races exciting – Lewis
He goes on to add that there is a reason why it is being done – entertainment factor. He admits that race gaps can get stretched out if there are no ‘incidents’ happening for a sustained time. But Formula 1 fans would rather see honest racing than unnecessary red flags halting the race, like it did not once, but twice at Mugello.
“I can understand why and that is exciting. These races can get boring when everyone streams out and there are such big gaps between everyone.”
He concluded by giving an example of the Nascar where yellow flags are a frequent occurrence to keep the race exciting. But he pointed out a very crucial thing at the end, and that is the safety factor, which should not be compromised for anything, at any cost.
“They do it in Nascar, they put out the yellow flag all the time and safety cars all the time to keep the race exciting. But they definitely need to take into account the safety aspect.”
