Whiting talks DRS, double points and marshal safety

The 16th annual Watkins Lecture – run by the Motorsport Safety Fund - took place at the Autosport International Show on Friday (9th January) at the NEC in Birmingham.

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It was given by Formula 1 race director Charlie Whiting, who sat down with F1 Racing Magazine’s Stuart Codling to chat about motorsport safety. It was a fascinating interview; here is a look at some of the major talking points.

The lecture covered a variety of topics, with Whiting sharing his views on the likes of DRS, mandatory pit stop times and poorly attended races – to name just a few.

Let’s start with his views on DRS, the driver-adjustable system that reduces aerodynamic drag at specific points on the circuit to boost overtaking. Whiting admitted to being a fan of the device. “I'm a great fan of it,” he said.

"I know some people are opposed to it and really think it is not pure enough. I completely disagree with that view. It still requires extreme skill from the driver. It is not as if it's turn on, overtake, go, done." He used the example of Spa, where some have criticised the device for making overtaking too easy into Les Combes.

"Sometimes it does appear like that [too easy] but Spa is an example of how if you come through Eau Rouge a bit quicker than the car in front and deploy DRS it's dead simple.

"But it's only because of the exit speed of the car. If the cars are at an equal speed, a driver will have to be within 0.3s of the car in front which is no mean feat in itself. But if they are at the same speed at the beginning of the DRS zone, they will be alongside at the braking point.

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"That's the whole theory of the DRS. You have to pre-suppose that the cars are at the same speed but you have no idea what speed they are going to do that. If you understand the reasoning about it and what is required to actually overtake, it still takes a great deal from the driver."

He also shared his views on mandatory pit stop times, to stop cars being released with loose wheels. The idea was raised after an FOM cameraman was unfortunately struck by an out-of-control wheel during the German Grand Prix last season, but Whiting doesn’t think it will be implemented.

"It’s been discussed but it’s not something that’s likely to happen, definitely not," he admitted. "I think that would be a bad move and I don’t think it would achieve anything. I think obviously the incident with Mark Webber’s wheel in the Nurburgring started quite a lot of discussion.

"It’s all driven by the quest for speed, but I don’t think if you had a mandatory minimum pit stop time it would change anything. They would still change the wheels quickly and you’d have the rather odd sight of a car just sitting there for the rest of the time."

It isn't speed that he feels is the problem, it is the actual system to secure the wheel. "I think what we’ve got to address is the fundamental problem and that is why did that wheel not get fixed on properly? That’s really what we want to do. And why was the car released in an unsafe condition? So what we’ve done since then is to introduce mandatory two stage wheel retention devices on the wheel nuts.

"We have made it compulsory to have the button on the gun has to be in a position where the operator has to make a distinct move to say ‘yes I’m done’ where before they could just slide their thumb across and just say I’m done.

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"Each gun has a button which the operator presses to say he’s done so then the jack men get two green lights on the end of the car, drop the car, then the guy releasing the car sees two green jacks. We’ve also introduced an override on the pit wall which is saying that nothing can happen until he takes his finger off the button as well."

Speaking of safety, he also commented on the protection for stewards. This was after marshal Mark Robinson tragically died after being hit by a recovery vehicle at last year’s Canadian Grand Prix. "The accident in Canada was dreadfully unfortunate," he said. "Things will change in that respect.

"Since that accident, we have briefed everyone to, if you are using one of those JCB-like vehicles to lift a car, you should never walk in front of it. It kind of stands to reason. The Brazilian ASN has a system which will attach two ropes to the car to hold it level [while being recovered] and it stops it twisting so you don't need people to stabilise it."

A number of races have been dropped from the calendar, most recently Korea, due to poor attendance figures. Using the race in Yeongham as an example, he said: "It is a very interesting country, I must say that I really enjoy going there, but Bernie really thought there would be a massive interest in it and that, more importantly, the teams would benefit from the involvement in Korea but it just didn’t work out like that.

"I think the reason is it was too far away from Seoul, I think if it had been closer it would have been easier to get bigger crowds in. Bernie felt that it would be a good place for the teams; they would be able to generate revenue there but it just hasn’t worked out like that. It is a bit of an extreme example.

"Bahrain has never had a massive crowd but then, I don’t think they actually need it. One circuit that was really disappointing was Istanbul. It was a beautiful circuit, a wonderful city and 20 miles away there were 13 million people, but for some reason we only got 20,000 people turn up for the race."

Another hot topic, besides the 2014 calendar, is the introduction of double points. It caused a highly negative response from fans, but Whiting is sitting on the fence. "I can see the rationale for having it. It is something that came from Bernie, as everybody knows, and his interest is to keep the championship alive for as long as possible.
 

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"Some people argue that this is a knee-jerk reaction to the championship being settled four or five races before the end of the season, which is damaging for the image of Formula 1 – one could argue, but it is not unprecedented.

"It has happened before. I think, in that respect, it could probably help but then if you are a driver who has worked hard all season to build up a 49 point lead before the last race and you could lose it, it seems a bit harsh. I don’t normally sit on the fence but on this one, I think I would."

Answering a question on the new ERS system, he said that no extra safety precautions will be needed – his experts say – in comparison to the ones previously used with the Kinetic Energy Recovery System that was used between 2009 and 2013.
 
The lecture was a really fascinating insight into the world of motorsport safety. Those in attendance, including myself, got to hear stories from how F1’s current race director got into motorsport and how his career progressed, along with hearing his views on current hot topics in the world of Formula 1.

If you are attending the Autosport International Show next year, I would definitely recommend attending the Watkins Lecture.