F1 to ‘review’ chaotic Zandvoort start after Max Verstappen’s shunt
Pierre Gasly confirmed that the drivers will give feedback after a damp Zandvoort track caused mayhem on the opening lap of rht Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix.
Pierre Gasly has confirmed that there will be a review into the start of the Dutch Grand Prix, after mixed track conditions caused chaos last weekend.
Zandvoort's final Formula 1 event in the modern era saw lap one carnage as Max Verstappen tapped a wet kerb with his rear-right tyre before spearing into the concrete wall on the outside of the final corner.
At the same time, Audi driver Gabriel Bortoleto miraculously avoided a nasty accident as a 360-degree spin sent plumes of tyre smoke into the midfield.
Whilst the majority of the lap was dry, the final corner remained damp in patches, with water resting at the foot of the banked curve. The usual formation lap was led by the safety car, before the race began with the normal grid start.
In difficult conditions, the FIA race director can alter the starting procedure to a rolling start, or can allow additional laps behind the safety car, which are removed from the overall race distance, before dictating either a standing or rolling start.
Asked about the conditions at the start, Gasly said: "If we go the way we did with one lap behind the safety car, standing start, I would have preferred to just do a normal out-lap, so we would have pushed a bit faster.
"I thought the point was to go at least once through the last corner on the banking with the safety car before doing the normal race start.
"Yeah, it was damp. Obviously, we would have still put the slick tyres on, I don't think I would have changed much. So it was just the conditions and the tyre choice, unfortunately.
"We'll review for the next race what the drivers' feedback was, but I think it was either no safety car and only one formation lap, or with the safety car, at least give us one extra lap."
Having started inside the top 10, Gasly was one of the first drivers on the scene after Verstappen lost control of his Red Bull.
He added: "It was the wettest corner. It was extremely tricky even to get out of Turn 13, and, Max had a massive snap on the wet patches, and he couldn't catch it."
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