Comments on: Ferrari Cause Controversy With Pit Stops

By: Lights, Camera, Action: Ferrari Haven’t Given Up On Pitlane Lights » BlogF1

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 18:15:10 +0000

[...] In Valencia, Kimi Raikkonen left the garage early, replays suggesting the light was amber, indicating that this was driver error. But in Singapore, Massa was given the green light to go. Unfortunately for the Brazilian, the fuel hose was still attached and ended up being dragged down the pitlane. In both cases, team members were pulled to the ground and received minor injuries. [...]

By: Ferrari To Use Pitstop-Lollipop In Japan » BlogF1

Ferrari To Use Pitstop-Lollipop In Japan » BlogF1 — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 15:25:25 +0000

[...] Raikkonen and Felipe Massa have both suffered embarrassment from the system Ferrari have adopted, but essentially, there is little reason why it should not work as well as a lollipop. I do not [...]

By: Another Pitlane Disaster For Ferrari » BlogF1

Another Pitlane Disaster For Ferrari » BlogF1 — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 13:26:59 +0000

[...] wasn’t all that long ago that Ferrari had a two disastrous pitstops, one for each driver. And it appears that the Scuderia have made anopther mistake, giving Felipe [...]

By: Alianora La Canta

Alianora La Canta — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 10:14:33 +0000

Massa should have been penalised during the race. That is, after all, what there is provision for in the regulations. There is no provision for a fine.

By: seccotine

seccotine — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 21:30:26 +0000

I think the fine is an appropriate penalty for Massa — after all, he relies on his team to signal him to leave the pit. What I though was odd were his comments in the post-race interview where he seemed to say that Sutil was at fault. While I don’t think Massa should be held responsible for being released from his pit stop while Sutil was in the lane, I think it’s silly for him to say that Sutil should have been waiting for Massa to leave the pits before him.

By: Linda N

Linda N — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 16:08:13 +0000

I find it really hard to believe that Kimi does not know his pit crew, his statement was “There is not much to say. I left [the pits] a bit too early. It was my fault and unfortunately I ran over the guy who was refuelling,” said Raikkonen. Does this man not know who his pit crew is. He acted in every interview that is was just some blow joe working on his car. Can someone please inform me if these drivers just dont care about anyone else or are they that sheltered from everything around them. I sure would want to know who is in my crew, after all I would hate to be going over 200 mph and had @#$% off someone on my crew the night before, what a mess that could be. Become human Kimi you are not the only person risking your life out there, especially on your team.

By: Ted Voulgaris

Ted Voulgaris — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 20:05:33 +0000

It would be senseless and unfair to penalize Massa. He did everything right, actually, by stopping and avoiding a pit lane accident–unlike Hamilton’s gaffe in the pits which took out Raikkonen. The closeness of this incident has been replicated quite a few times in the past with various drivers even with the lollipop system. It’s simple, really, no damage no punishment. In any event if punishment is to be assigned it should be to the Ferrari team and not to the Ferrari driver who clearly dominated the race and did nothing but obey his team’s pit signals. Massa has had enough bad luck already. He should be leading the championship.

By: francois

francois — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 16:57:40 +0000

If it weren’t for the kind of penalties McLaren got for far less then I would have said that the €10k fine and reprimand would have been fair enough.

This lack of consistency is causing all kinds of problems now , and I’d go as far as to suggest it shows the FIA is not as impartial as it should be.

By: Semo

Semo — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 15:50:13 +0000

Well, I watched the race and I think this weekend was disappointing; but actually I liked the circuit. By the way, I think there is no need for Massa getting penalized. He braked when he saw Sutil as I saw. It would be better for Ferrari to cancel this light thing. It’s a silly idea!

By: Craig

Craig — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 15:47:27 +0000

On your point about Ferrari’s non-lollipop system, I’ve wondered for a while why noone else has copied it – maybe this is why!

Although Ferrari said it was not an automatic system, but instead human-operated, I still think it works roughly how ITV described it.

I would imagine what actually happens is that each person on the tyres and fuel has a button as was suggested by ITV – the tyre guys are generally finished earlier than the fuel one so when all 4 have pressed their buttons I think the amber light will come on, with the green being lit only when the fuel guy has pressed his button.

In this instance Kimi knew he needed a very speedy getaway so was watching the fuel-filler in his mirrors, saw movement and floored it – a bit too early though.

Just my thoughts – could all be nonsense!

By: Valencia 2008: Massa Wins Under Cloud Of Controversy » BlogF1

Valencia 2008: Massa Wins Under Cloud Of Controversy » BlogF1 — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 15:36:34 +0000

[...] These pitlane blunders will almost certainly call into question the system Ferrari are using. Instead of having a lollipop man release the car when all is ready, the Maranello-squad now use a lighting system that is positioned on a gantry above the drivers head. As each part of the pit stop is completed, the system is made aware and once the fuel nozzle comes out, the red light changes to amber, and then to green when the car can be safely released back into the pitlane. The replays clearly show Raikkonen leaving the box before the green light came on, but also of note is that the amber light was shown while the fuel nozzle was still attached to the car. [...]

By: Craig

Craig — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 15:33:13 +0000

I’m pretty surprised that Massa didn’t receive some sort of penalty during the race -and even more surprised that he hasn’t been demoted down the grid at the next GP. A fine is basically no penalty at all to these drivers and teams!

Having said that, Massa wasn’t really at fault and given his driving today I am happy he has retained the win – especially given what happened at the last race where he was robbed of a well-deserved win due to unreliability.

And what odds Ferrari engines blowing up in successive races? It’s a pretty uncommon sight at all these days, never mind to have two from the same team.

Ferrari seem to be doing all in their power to hand this season’s titles to McLaren and Hamilton…