Before Max Verstappen reminded us all how a bit of rain brings Formula One to life, Brazil was setting the sport its biggest challenge since the ill-fated Japanese GP of 2014.
It was a day much like the Sunday that has just past at Interlagos. The early bands of a typhoon had soaked the Suzuka circuit for hours before the race, and the forecast going forward was not much brighter.
The FIA had been under pressure for quite some time for the decisions it makes when the weather doesn’t play ball, many remembering back to the four hours it took to complete the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix and a similar scene in Malaysia a year later.
Eventually, the race got underway behind the Safety Car, going green after a period of laps, and the weather somewhat co-operated as the rain eased enough for the drivers to use intermediate tyres.
An incident for Adrian Sutil, however, changed all that and as the rain came down harder another driver spun off at the same place, that driver was Jules Bianchi.
A lack of really wet races since, with only Austin 2015 and Monaco this year bearing much resemblance, meant F1 hadn’t really faced another Suzuka-style scenario since that October day. That was until Interlagos.
The comparisons between the two circuits are closer than you would think. Both are old-school designs without the large run-off areas and perimeter roads of Sepang or the Circuit of the Americas and, while efforts are continually made to improve, track drainage also isn’t as good as at their modern counterparts.
Faced with this situation, it was not surprising then to see the level of cautiousness we saw on Sunday.
The Safety Car start was all but guaranteed as, despite efforts to avoid a long dash to the first corner, it was not possible to ensure safe conditions all around the circuit.
The decision to start racing when they did was bold, as pointed out by Sky F1 commentator Martin Brundle, but in retrospect the only area of track that was of concern was on the uphill climb to the start/ finish line.
That remained the case throughout the race as crashes for Marcus Ericsson, Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa showed. As well as spins for Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso and even Verstappen.
Debris was the reason for the first red flag, following Raikkonen’s crash, but the second red flag was almost certainly an example of that overcaution.
With rain continuing to fall, the interruptions recreated the exact scenario that caused Sutil and Bianchi’s crashes, as increased standing water threatened to become too much for particularly the intermediate tyres. That was potentially why the second suspension was called.
The anger it created was noticeable as fans started booing and even leaving according to some tweets:
Twitter: BBC saying fans are already leaving Interlagos…. wow! 🙁 #F1 #BrazilGP (@ReadMotorsport)
Some of the blame for that has to go on Pirelli’s shoulders as their ‘extreme’ or full wet tyres are known to be a poor rain tyre. It has been a criticism for a while and was why teams were prepared to risk the intermediates on a still very wet track.
It is also likely what causes race director Charlie Whiting to keep the Safety Car out longer in those situations, reducing the length of time the drivers use the blue-marked tyres at racing speed.
However, what also has to be recognised is the Safety Car itself is a very poor guide to the conditions.
Speeds are very much reduced and thus reduce the amount of water the F1 cars actually clear, so in many ways, the ‘safety’ option makes the situation worse.
If a kind of Virtual Safety Car situation was possible which would allow drivers to maintain heat in the tyres and travel at speeds that are both safe but work to clear some water then it would be the ideal solution for F1.
Ultimately, come the end of the race, all the worst case scenarios had been avoided and a memorable Brazilian Grand Prix took place. Yes, there was some highly dangerous situations but, and this may sound a little sadistic, it is part of the thrill that makes the sport what it is.
It is part of racing in the wet and is what makes these sportsmen stand out from many of their counterparts. After all, you wouldn’t see Cristiano Ronaldo driving into a plume of spray at 160mph would you? He’d be more worried about getting his hair wet.
