The FIA has added a brand new circuit map from the Japanese Grand Prix onwards in a bid to cut back the necessity for security automotive interventions after Formulation 1 drivers must abandon their automobiles on monitor, Autosport has discovered.
After conducting an intensive evaluation of security automotive deployments in the course of the 2024 season, the FIA concluded there have been a shocking quantity of cases the place a security automotive might be prevented by stopping the automotive in a location the place it may be recovered with out sending a automobile on monitor. In these instances, a security automotive was despatched out on monitor when, in hindsight, yellow flags or a Digital Security Automotive would have sufficed.
In a bid to unravel this subject, the FIA has added a brand new circuit map to its occasion notes, that are distributed to all F1 groups earlier than the beginning of every race weekend. This new map was first utilized in China and has now been added to the official paperwork at this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix.
The FIA was already informing groups in the course of the drivers’ briefing about the most effective locations to cease their automobiles in case of a much less vital subject – for instance, when a technical downside is suspected.
FIA Suzuka monitor map
Picture by: FIA
The primary motive for speaking this info is to focus on the areas the place restoration might be dealt with rapidly, so the session can resume as rapidly as potential and in addition permits groups to have a automotive again at their storage sooner, which is vital significantly throughout follow periods.
Alongside the monitor, places with gaps vast sufficient for a automotive to be pushed by are additionally marked with fluorescent orange paint on the obstacles.
Along with displaying whether or not a automotive ought to be stopped on the left-hand or right-hand aspect of the monitor within the occasion of a problem, the map additionally options exclamation mark indicators to point the optimum stopping spots. These are places the place there’s a massive sufficient hole within the barrier and adequate marshals to permit for a fast restoration – doubtlessly eliminating the necessity for a security automotive.
There may be additionally plans to combine this info into the software program utilized by groups on the pitwall. Autosport understands the required software program updates will likely be carried out inside the subsequent few races.
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