Bianchi Accident: Tests to Limit Speed Under Yellow Flag in Austin
The practice sessions of the United States Grand Prix of Formula 1, at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, will be the occasion for a first test on the limitation of drivers' speed under yellow flags, one of the measures considered following Jules Bianchi's accident.
The accident of Jules Bianchi during the Japanese Grand Prix has reignited the debate on driver safety in F1. Following the investigation conducted by the FIA on the conditions of the incident, it emerged that one area for improvement was the adherence to yellow flags.
At the moment of leaving the track, the Frenchman was likely traveling at over 200 km/h in turn 7, despite a significant slowdown highlighted by Charlie Whiting. However, this speed, under worsening conditions and with intermediate tires nearing the end of their stint, led to the tragic accident that followed, with the Marussia ending its race in a recovery vehicle deployed by race control to remove Adrian Sutil’s Sauber.
While the governing bodies have announced that measures would be taken, the idea that seems to have gained traction is the limitation of speed in areas where yellow flags are waved. Tests are planned in Austin, the venue for the next race of the season (from October 31 to November 2), during free practice 1 or 2.
The limitation should be based on the idea of a minimum time to be respected for the driver entering an area under double yellow flags, marked on the circuit by the track length between the marshal posts waving the yellow flags and the one waving the green flag. It has been suggested that the speed to be reached could be 100 km/h in these areas, according to British journalist James Allen.
A priori, the procedure will be as follows: just like when the minimum gap was introduced under the safety car at the time, it is during the in-lap, at the end of the session, that drivers will be invited to adjust their speed in a predefined zone.
These tests on the Circuit of the Americas will not lead to regulatory changes: indeed, the electronic control units (ECUs) need to be modified to enable the implementation of such a system, which will likely be introduced in 2015. The issue is not so much with the teams, who should not encounter difficulties in programming the ECUs, but rather with race management, which will have to work on managing and monitoring this speed limit in real-time.
Once developed and implemented, this technology should be able to activate automatically to prevent drivers from having an influence on the timing or degree of deceleration, which is still entirely at their discretion today.
