---
title: "FIA responds to safety car criticism after Verstappen ‘turtle’ remark"
canonical: "https://readmotorsport.com/2022/04/14/fia-responds-to-safety-car-criticism-after-verstappen-turtle-remark/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Hamilton Lyndon-Griffiths"
section: "F1 News"
published: "2022-04-14T10:06:58Z"
modified: "2022-04-14T10:06:59Z"
---

# FIA responds to safety car criticism after Verstappen ‘turtle’ remark

Formula 1’s governing body the FIA insist the safety cars’ “primary function” is safety and not speed in the wake of criticism from drivers.

At last weekend’s Australian Grand Prix, a number of drivers complained about how slow the Aston Martin safety car had been compared to the Mercedes one at other races.

Reigning world champion Max Verstappen said the low speeds resulted in tyre temperatures dropping too much, going on to label the Aston Martin safety car a “turtle”.

Mercedes driver George Russell said that the performance comparison between the Aston Martin and Mercedes safety cars were too great, but the FIA believe this is not an issue.

In a statement issued on Thursday morning, the FIA was clear the main priority of the safety car is for the race to continue in a safe manner, rather than how quick it goes.

“In light of recent comments regarding the pace of the FIA Formula 1 Safety Car, the FIA would like to reiterate that the primary function of the FIA Formula 1 Safety Car is, of course, not outright speed, but the safety of the drivers, marshals and officials,” the statement reads.

“The safety car procedures take into account multiple objectives, depending upon the incident in question, including the requirement to ‘bunch up’ the field, negotiate an incident recovery or debris on track in a safe manner and adjust the pace depending on recovery activities that may be ongoing in a different part of the track.”

It added that how the ultimate pace of the safety car impacts an F1 cars performance is a “secondary consideration” given it affects all drivers.

“The speed of the safety car is therefore generally dictated by race control, and not limited by the capabilities of the safety cars, which are bespoke high-performance vehicles prepared by two of the world’s top manufacturers, equipped to deal with changeable track conditions at all times and driven by a hugely experienced and capable driver and co-driver.

“The impact of the speed of the safety car on the performance of the cars following is a secondary consideration, as the impact is equal amongst all competitors who, as is always the case, are responsible for driving in a safe manner at all times according to the conditions of their car and the circuit.”

Following Mick Schumacher’s near-miss with Yuki Tsunoda behind the safety car in Melbourne, talks are expected to take place around revising the rules, with the stewards recommending an investigation into the incident to ensure a repeat instance can be avoided.