And if Hamilton had gone to the pit stops?
The restart of the Hungarian Grand Prix race led to one of the most unusual starts in F1 history. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) remaining alone on the grid on his team's orders.
This is probably one of the images of the season. Hamilton alone on the grid for the second start of the Hungarian Grand Prix, alone at the wheel of his Mercedes. After the chaos at the first corner and the red flag, the track dried up, allowing the drivers the opportunity to enter the pits for slick tires. All the remaining drivers chose to go there, except one: Lewis Hamilton.
EVERYONE PITS on the formation lap!
Lewis Hamilton is the ONLY driver to take the start 😱#HungarianGP 🇭🇺 #F1 pic.twitter.com/PQuuy5nfUe
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 1, 2021
His team feared that his driver could have been trapped in the pitlane. Indeed, the Mercedes pit is the first one and with the chaos caused by the drying track, Hamilton would have been relegated to the pack. That’s why Mercedes decided to keep the world champion on track.
And if Hamilton had eventually gone to the pits, how would F1 have managed the absence of the cars on the grid?
A scenario that has never occurred in the history of Formula 1. The last time so many drivers were missing from the grid was during a sad start to the United States Grand Prix in 2005. On that day, all Michelin tires were removed and only six cars fitted with Bridgestone tires started the race. So it’s a question that everyone is asking and that Michael Masi said he has an idea about this unique case.
Once the last car was in the pitlane, the starting signal would have been given. Then, once it was activated, the green light at the pit exit would have turned on, and the order would have been to exit the pits.
He specified that the normal departure procedure would have taken place, even if there was no one on the grid.
« The start lights would have been activated. Once the red lights were off, the pit lane exit would have opened.
If this standing start will remain in the minds, Masi estimated that lessons learned from this event could lead to a change in the F1 sporting regulations for this type of circumstances. After discussing with sport directors, some wondered if it was really a bad thing.
« It’s something that no one could have ever predicted, but we will let things settle down and discuss it in the light of day with all the sports directors.
