Max Verstappen was bang to rights when he exited his pit box into the path of Andrea Kimi Antonelli during the Miami Grand Prix Sprint race.
Red Bull mechanics had released Verstappen too late on the slippery pit box in the wet conditions, causing Antonelli to swipe the endplate off his front wing as he attempted to turn into his pit box.
Antonelli was lucky that he aborted his pit box in time to prevent him from hitting his mechanics, while the sharp carbon fibre debris that flew from Verstappen’s car posed another risk for those working in the pit lane.
It was a dangerous scenario brought on by the conditions and a lack of judgment from the Red Bull pit crew, and it should make F1 reconsider one rule change that was discussed leading up to the Miami GP weekend.
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F1 should reconsider pit lane speed limit proposal
Heading into the Miami GP weekend, there were discussions over whether the pit lane speed limit itself should be raised at certain circuits to open up strategy options.
It is currently set at 80kph (50mph), but at some tracks it is 60kph (37mph) because of the narrow fast lane. F1 wants to increase this to 80kph, according to a report in The Race, which would be a 20kph hike in speed.
Red Bull uses an automated system to release its car from the pit box, whereby each of the mechanics press a switch on their wheel guns and a final button is pressed by the chief mechanic to release the car.
Those automated systems are responsible for their blisteringly quick pit stops, but the system did not take into account the wet surface. This made it harder for Verstappen to pull out of his box and thus, contributed to the dangerous scenario.
Although Miami’s speed limit is set at 80kph, if this scenario played out at a circuit where it was 60kph then the outcome would likely have been a lot closer. Had the speed been increased in a desire to improve the show, this could’ve had serious consequences due to the reaction time at higher speeds.
Why does F1 have a speed limit in the pits?
Believe it or not, F1 used to allow drivers to speed through the pit lane at any speed between 1950 and the 1990s.
It was only in 1993 that a speed limit was first introduced for practice sessions, then later in 1994 for all sessions for safety reasons following the race in Imola when Michele Alboreto lost a wheel in the pit lane, which resulted in a few injured mechanics.
It also made sense due to the increased number of pit lane workers and fuel rigs, with it initially being set at 100kph. The decreased speed of 80kph has been implemented since the 2014 season, and is unlikely to be changed due to safety grounds.
After the incident between Antonelli and Verstappen in Miami, F1 bosses and the FIA might want to think twice about increasing the speed where there are already near-misses due to the narrow pit lanes.
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