By 
As the final seconds ticked down in qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen over-committed at the high-speed entrance to the penultimate corner and spun off into a barrier.
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Andrea Kimi Antonelli spotted the yellow flag waving and reacted immediately, backing off to avoid improving his lap time and risking a penalty.
But George Russell saw the same signal and reacted differently. Noticing that only a single yellow flag was waving and not a double, Russell immediately understood he only needed to reduce his speed temporarily and that his lap would stand if he completed it.
Russell’s knowledge of the regulations paid off: he grabbed pole position while his team mate admitted he should have lifted and then pressed on.
Weeks later at the Hungaroring, facing a similar situation, Antonelli did exactly that. On this occasion the stewards decided he did not slow down enough and penalised him.
But should drivers ever be allowed to improve their lap times under yellow flag conditions? The fact a single yellow flag was used in response to Verstappen’s crash at the Red Bull Ring attracted considerable comment: the incident occured at a high-speed corner where another driver could easily have gone off and hit the stationary car. Yellow flags are supposed to prevent this kind of incident from happening, but if drivers are allowed to merely lift the throttle briefly and then resume at full speed, are they no longer serving their intended purpose?
There is more than one way F1 could address this. Any lap time improvement by a driver under double waved yellow flags is automatically deleted; this same arrangement could be introduced for single waved yellow flags. Or the use of double waved yellow flags could be mandated for any incident in qualifying.
Either way, should F1 remove the incentive for drivers to respond to a yellow flag with a perfunctory lift followed by a full commitment approach to the rest of the lap, potentially including the accident scene?
For
The Red Bull Ring case demonstrated a clear safety risk under the current regulations. Allowing drivers to pass the crash scene at speed created an obvious danger.
Although introducing stricter rules would potentially lead to more lap times being deleted, teams will anticipate this and adjust their run plans accordingly.
Against
F1 drivers are professional racers who understand the limits of adhesion far better than ordinary observers. Requiring them to briefly lift for yellow flags is sufficient.
Introducing stricter limits would lead to more times being deleted during qualifying and would make it easier for drivers to prevent rivals from improving their lap times.
I say
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The incident at the Red Bull Ring and the similar situation at the Hungaroring smacked of one of the most unappealing traits of modern F1: the regulations being interpreted in a way which puts the precious ‘show’ above all other considerations, potentially even safety. Verstappen’s crash did not deserve less than double waved yellow flags; a red flag would have been justified.
F1 absolutely needs to toughen this up. It is no small leap of imagination to see how a similar decision could lead to a much worse outcome, particularly in wet weather conditions.
The best way to prevent this would be to extend the current rule preventing drivers from improving their times under double waved yellow flags to singles. This would immediately remove the potentially dangerous incentive for drivers to perform a box-ticking lift of the throttle before resuming their lap at full speed.
If it leads to undesirable consequences such as drivers attempting to deliberately cause yellow flags, that can be dealt with in other ways. The priority should be to minimise the potential safety risk.
You say
Does F1 need to stop drivers improving their lap times when they pass a yellow flag while on a qualifying lap? Cast your vote below and have your say in the comments.
Should Formula 1 prevent drivers improving their lap times under yellow flags in qualifying?
- No opinion (0%)
- Strongly disagree (20%)
- Slightly disagree (0%)
- Neither agree nor disagree (0%)
- Slightly agree (13%)
- Strongly agree (67%)
Total Voters: 30
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