Sebastien Buemi questions WEC race control’s VSC/FCY calls

Sebastien Buemi has admitted that it is becoming “difficult” for World Endurance Championship drivers and teams to understand whether race control will deploy a Full-Course Yellow, a Virtual Safety Car or a full-blown safety car in response to an accident.

The factory Toyota driver made that comment in the wake of the recent WEC races at Austin and Fuji, both of which featured multiple neutralisation periods of varying types. In particular, the decision to use a VSC to remove debris on track at the Lone Star Le Mans opened a debate over whether an FCY would have sufficed. 

The choice between VSC, SC and FCY determines whether the pitlane remains open, which, in turn, can play a big role in deciding the outcome of the race. Drivers are not allowed to pit under an FCY, except for emergency service, but they are free to stop for fuel and tyres under VSC. More importantly, every VSC is followed by the safety car proper, bunching up the field and wiping out any gaps.

Buemi said the difficulty in anticipating which procedure will be used can make it harder for teams to make strategic calls from the pitwall.

“Lately, these races come down to small calls like that or mostly luck, in my opinion,” the WEC veteran said.

“There are a lot of full course yellows and virtual safety cars and safety cars, and it is difficult to understand why the race director decides a virtual safety car and not a full course yellow. So of course it impacts the race massively.”

With the Hypercar field closer than ever, strategy has played a big role in determining the outcome of races this year.

At Fuji, Toyota did not appear to have a shot at victory on pure speed, but it rolled the dice when the safety car was deployed in the final hour due to a major crash involving the #58 McLaren 720 GT3.

There were no questions over the use of a Safety Car in that instance given the severity of the accident, but Toyota correctly anticipated that the barrier repairs would take a significant amount of time and fuelled the #8 TR010 accordingly.

This allowed Buemi and his team-mates, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa, to score a surprise win against the Alpine A424 LMDh cars that had previously led the race.

“Wth the last [safety car], I don’t think it was down to luck, it was down to making the right decisions,” the Swiss said. “We saw that the guardrail would take a long [time] to repair and we decided to not put enough fuel in the car.”

#58 Garage 59 McLaren 720s GT3 EVO: Alexander West, Finn Gehrsitz, Benjamin Goethe crash

Photo by: FIA WEC / DPPI

FIA responds to Buemi’s comment

Following Buemi’s comments in the Fuji press conference, the FIA stressed that the race control has access to the latest information from a wide variety of sources, including onboard cameras, CCTV footage and direct communication with the track marshals.

As such, the governing body said it can make informed choices about whether an incident can be dealt with by a FCY, or requires a virtual/full safety car.

“Neutralisation decisions are made solely on safety grounds, regardless of how the race is unfolding,” Benoit Dupont, FIA Deputy Circuit Sport Director for Sport Operations, told Motorsport.com.

“For each incident, the Race Director selects the most appropriate option available (FCY, VSC, SC or Red Flag) to manage the situation as safely and efficiently as possible for competitors and track personnel.

“The decision depends on factors such as the nature and urgency of the intervention, the resources required and available, and the specific circumstances at the time.

“Race Control has the most complete overview of the situation when making these decisions. We understand that drivers may sometimes question the choice of procedure, but they do not necessarily have access to the same information available to the Race Control.”

We want your opinion!

– The Motorsport.com Team

Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: motorsport.com