Lando Norris stated after the Brazilian Grand Prix that Max Verstappen had been lucky with the red flag. He later congratulated Verstappen but David Coulthard thinks that there should be a rule preventing a safety car or red flag from turning the whole race around. However, Eddie Jordan does not agree at all.
It happens regularly: a driver makes a pit stop, but two laps later something happens on the track and a safety car comes out. This gives drivers who have not yet stopped an advantage, as you lose less time in a pit stop while the safety car is on the track.
In Brazil, things went a step further: Norris made a pit stop, but a few laps later, the red flag was waved. Everyone had to return to the pit lane, and everyone could change tyres without any losing time. As a result, Verstappen moved up to P2 and eventually even managed to win the race.
Jordan defends Verstappen
When Coulhard, in the Formula for Success podcast, raised the idea of banning a pit stop during a [virtual] safety car, Jordan reacted indignantly: “Are you telling me that Max was dealt a fair deal? Was he dealt a fair deal when the red flag came out six cars, seven cars later? Come on, David, don’t be stupid. You know the Gods are in Lando’s hands. They want Lando to win this championship, but he’s not going to because Max has outfoxed them. That’s it.”
This article has been created in collaboration with Matt Gretton