As well as providing a major talking point after the race, Ross Brawn believes Sunday’s collision between Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo highlighted one of the main problems in modern Formula One.
The Red Bull drivers took each other out of the race on lap 39 when Ricciardo attempted to pass Verstappen for fourth place only for his teammate to close the door at the last moment. While Brawn was unwilling to point the finger at either driver, he did use the example to raise the his ongoing concerns about the impact of the current aerodynamic regulations on racing.
« One of the key turning points of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix was the collision between team mates Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen, » Brawn said. « I don’t want to comment on who might be held responsible or how a team should manage these issues during a race, but I do think the steward’s decision to reprimand both drivers was the right course of action.
« But I would like to highlight a technical point. Once Daniel had settled for his line, and Max had changed direction blocking that line, the Australian became a passenger. The downforce loss experienced by Ricciardo in the wake of Verstappen’s car would have made it unstoppable.
« We often think of downforce applying in cornering, but the impact the extra grip has in braking is huge. Take away that grip in braking and what happened on Sunday was inevitable.
« Whilst this was a very severe example, it did highlight once more the need of finding a way to develop the rules to make the cars more raceable in these conditions. »
Brawn’s comments came after F1 had agreed to tweak 2019’s aerodynamic regulations with the aim of providing closer racing. A bigger overhaul of the technical side of the sport is due in 2021, but Brawn is confident the changes for next year will take a step in the right direction.
« The decision of the Strategy Group and the F1 Commission taken on Monday, sanctioned by the FIA World Motor Sport Council, to approve a number of aerodynamic modifications, aimed at promoting closer racing and more overtaking for the 2019 season is definitely an important step.
« It’s also important to note that the decision has been taken after an intense period of research into the FIA’s proposals, which were made with the support of Formula One and, conducted by a majority of the teams.
« It showed good spirit and a good way of working together for a better and more spectacular Formula One, which is what the FIA, Formula One, the teams, and most importantly, the fans want. Bravo. »
http://www.espn.com/f1/story/_/id/23381504/brawn-red-bull-collision-highlights-flaw-current-regulations
