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F1 and the FIA are tightening up the rules regarding on-track car damage and its implications after the latest race in Montreal, according to former-driver-turned-analyst Johnny Herbert.
The issue of allowing cars to race despite having some damage was one of the major talking points during the 2022 F1 Canadian GP. Haas driver Kevin Magnussen tangled with Lewis Hamilton and damaged part of his front wing endplate.
Alpine driver Esteban Ocon was quick to report it, resulting in Magnussen being forced to pit from within the top 10 to fix it. The Dane was far from pleased with this after it effectively ruined his race.
For Sky Sports presenter Johnny Herbert, the precedent for this happening was set back in Jeddah towards the end of last season by seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.
While analyzing the race for F1TV, the Briton said:
“The big one that we saw, just about 10 races ago now, was when [Lewis] Hamilton hit the back of [Max] Verstappen in Jeddah. Now Lewis didn’t have to pit and didn’t get a black and orange flag for damage that looked pretty similar to [Kevin] Magnussen in the Haas this year.”
Herbert went on to add:
“The damage was very similar, and Hamilton crucially didn’t have to pit to sort that out, he could stay on and win the race. It could have been so different if Hamilton had to pit to sort that out. So maybe [it’s] the FIA just tightening that up. It’s a safety issue, a potential safety issue, in calling Magnussen into the pits.”
The issue of loose debris flying off cars is a serious threat to safety and cannot be taken lightly by any driver or team. Those who follow and enjoy the sport will remember the time a loose spring from Rubens Barrichello's car flew right into Felipe Massa's crash helmet in 2009, fracturing the latter's skull and sending him into a coma in Hungary.
Watch the video:
Johnny Herbert expecting more F1 drivers to see black and orange flags as the 2022 season progresses
Johnny Herbert is expecting the back and orange flag to appear again in 2022, citing how teams have persisted on-track despite substantial damage to their cars.
In the aforementioned segment on F1TV, the 57-year-old said:
“Maybe we’re going to see more drivers get these black and orange flags because now, twice in a row, with Yuki Tsunoda’s rear wing in Baku and Magnussen’s front wing in Montreal, it’s derailed their entire Grand Prix for a little bit of damage.”
He continued:
On one hand, you’d say ‘OK, fair enough’. That maybe could go a little bit further, that could be a hazard for the driver behind and so you can understand, in one respect, the black and orange flag but we haven’t seen many of these flags for front wing damages before. Magnussen wasn’t shedding parts, it was just flailing around a little bit.”
It remains to be seen how stringent the FIA will be with these rules when action returns to Silverstone for the 2022 F1 British GP next.
