A number of drivers were highly critical of decisions made during the race, which was stopped three times, and Wolff believes clear definitions of protocols for red flags are required. Max Verstappen won in Melbourne, but only after the race came to an end behind the safety car. There were three red-flag stoppages due to incidents on track in a race that ran for two and a half hours. The second stoppage was followed by a standing restart when there were incidents involving six cars and the race was immediately halted again. Verstappen declared the situation a “mess” of the FIA’s own making and noted he could not understand why a safety car or a virtual safety car (VSC) had been used instead of a red flag. The FIA assesses each situation during a race and acts accordingly with safety as the paramount decisive factor.

Follow MotorMouth on social media:

• 
• 
• 
•