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Grand Prix Drivers Association director Sebastian Vettel says there is “zero tolerance” for the mistake that allowed Turkish Grand Prix qualifying to resume with a recovery vehicle in use.
The second part of a wet session at Istanbul started with a recovery vehicle still trying to be maneuvered out of harm’s way and marshals in the run-off area at the fast Turn 8 corner, following Nicholas Latifi’s late crash in Q1.
It was met with incredulity from some drivers and other F1 personnel, as the cars on their outlaps approached the high-speed quadruple-left with double-waved yellows deployed as an emergency measure to slow them down.
FIA race director Michael Masi blamed it on a delay for the recovery vehicle after the clerk of the course had said it would be clear of the track before the cars on their outlaps reached Turn 8.
It took longer than expected for the recovery vehicle to move into the barrier opening so double-waved yellows were deployed to slow the cars on-track down.
“I think we are all humans, mistakes happen, but this mistake has a zero tolerance,” said Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel.
“So I think we’re all well aware and I’m very confident that it will not happen in the future again.
“But we will talk about this and disclose the reasons why.”
The incident drew comparisons to Jules Bianchi’s tragic accident in the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix. Bianchi eventually lost his life because of the injuries sustained in that crash, when he slid off the wet track under yellow flags and struck a recovery vehicle.
Vettel’s Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc, a protege and friend of Bianchi, said: “I think we’ve all been a bit shocked to see it.
“We will probably speak together at the next briefing to avoid these type of situations.
“No need to say what happened in the past with these sorts of situations. I think it shouldn’t happen.
“We will make sure that it doesn’t happen again.”
The FIA said the procedures would be reviewed to “minimise the likelihood of similar incidents in future”.
No explanation has yet been given why it was considered necessary to start the session instead of waiting less than a minute to ensure the recovery vehicle was definitely off the track.
Masi is expected to address the incident further on Sunday evening in Istanbul.
Several drivers criticised the decision in the moment and after qualifying as well.
“That wasn’t very good,” said Red Bull’s Alex Albon. “I imagine that we were trying to make sunset and we rushed everything. But that was silly.
“I’m sure we could have waited another five minutes for a crane to move.”
Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo added: “I’m quite surprised there was a green. I don’t know what the rush was, I guess they were worried about light but I don’t think that should be happening.
“I’m quite surprised with that.”
