F1 Q&A: The Madring overtaking problem, how the virtual safety car works and will there be rookies in 2027?

The virtual safety car (VSC) definitely jeopardizes racing, but it does virtually nothing what the safety car does. Wouldn’t it be more balanced to have at least one full turn? Yes, this would dampen the danger effect, but what happened to Lando Norris seems like a chance card in Monopoly. -Kyle

Lando Norris’ bad luck with the virtual safety car at the Spanish Grand Prix has certainly focused attention on the ways in which this can disrupt racing.

The VSC has always had problems: it freezes a race instead of restarting it, which can be a bit boring compared to a real safety car, but it has the advantage of minimizing interruptions when a danger on the track can be eliminated relatively quickly.

It has long been an opportunity for someone to benefit from a rival, because making a pit stop with a VSC takes much less time than in racing conditions.

But normally this has been in cases where a team has changed or deployed its strategy with the express intention of waiting for a safety car or VSC (like Norris himself in his first victory in Miami in 2024), and benefiting from a rival who has followed a more conventional strategy.

That kind of thing is considered fair game. What happened to Norris – a driver lost a race victory because his specific position on the track at the time of a VSC meant he couldn’t pit under it on his own – is, as far as Sunday can be remembered, unique.

The media is not privy to the conversations at driver briefings, and Norris in particular gets a little dismissive when information from those meetings leaks because they are meant to be a safe space where drivers and the FIA ​​can share opinions without it becoming a controversy.

But after the race it emerged that this topic, as Norris said, “has been talked about many, many times.”

It remains to be seen if Norris’ misfortune leads to a change, such as ensuring a VSC is implemented for at least one full lap.

There is no easy answer, because within F1 it is recognized that safety cars are part of the competitive puzzle and can be used to the team’s benefit. And the latest rules were arrived at after several previous iterations that worked in different ways, such as closing the pit lane for specific periods.

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said: “In offering a personal opinion, I don’t know what is right.”

“Is it correct to give a sufficient duration so that everyone has been subject to the same track conditions? So, for example, the virtual safety car lasts at least one full lap.

“Or you just keep it in the hands of the gods, and sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you don’t. I’m not sure.”

There is a process for these types of discussions: they go to a sporting advisory committee for analysis, before being reviewed by the F1 Team Commission, F1’s commercial rights holder and the governing body of the FIA.

That will not happen quickly, unless F1 and the FIA ​​decide that changing the rules is desirable. Right now, the push for it doesn’t seem to be there.

What are the prospects for rookies arriving in Formula 1 next year? Many drivers are re-signing long-term contracts with their teams. Are there likely to be new recruits? – Mine

The most likely place for a new driver to arrive in F1 next season is Haas, where Esteban Ocon’s position looks shaky.

The two main candidates are the current Italian Formula 2 champion, Leonardo Fornaroli, who is part of the McLaren driver development program, and the Brazilian Rafael Camara, who is second in F2 this year and is part of the Ferrari driver academy.

Both tested for Haas and are said to have impressed the team.

Haas will want a fast, money-making driver and it’s unclear who the favorite is. Ryo Hirakawa, Haas reserve driver and longtime protégé of Haas technical partner Toyota, is also in the photo, but is considered a less likely candidate.

Elsewhere, there is talk that Red Bull is considering moving F2 championship leader Nikola Tsolov, who is Bulgarian, to its Racing Bulls team.

To do so, they would have to eliminate Liam Lawson or Arvid Lindblad. It’s hard to imagine what Lindblad would be like, after such an impressive rookie campaign.

But Lawson has also been doing a good job this year, so it’s not a given.

At Cadillac, they have Indycar race winner Colton Herta as a reserve. They have been planning for Herta to be in F1 in a short time; The idea behind him moving to Europe and taking part in Formula 2 this year was to be able to learn to drive on this side of the Atlantic and be as prepared as possible to graduate to F1.

But Herta has had a very difficult F2 campaign this year (his best result is a fifth place and he is 19th in the championship), so moving him to F1 for 2027 would be a huge risk.

Ugo Ugochukwu, who won the Formula 3 title in Madrid on Sunday, is another American said to be of interest to Cadillac.

He had been part of McLaren’s driver development program for several years until they parted ways at the end of last season.

But even if Ugochukwu’s links with Cadillac were to be formalized, next year would probably be too early for him to make it to F1.

He’s also extremely tall (over six feet and much taller than even Ocon, Alex Albon and George Russell, the current tallest drivers), so getting him into an F1 car wouldn’t be easy.

The other teams are practically blocked, although it is still unknown if Fernando Alonso will continue in F1 next year.