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The cars leave the pits during qualifying
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Analysis

The other notable Monza escape that F1 should learn from

OPINION: The headlines were dominated by the Italian Grand Prix crash between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, who had the halo to thank for avoiding potentially serious injury. But two days earlier, Formula 1 had a lucky escape with a Monza pitlane incident that could also have had grave consequences

A common theme arising from Formula 1's current knockout qualifying format is the teams waiting until the last few minutes before sending their cars out. This can be a recipe for bedlam in the pitlane, as we saw last weekend at Monza, where a potentially serious incident was only narrowly averted.

Releasing cars and hoping that others will give way is a risky business, not only as damage can occur, but because mechanics are at risk of being injured. With such a limited field of vision sat low in the cockpit, drivers have total trust that car controllers waving them out of the garage have a better view of what is happening around them. When they are told to go, they go.

Previous article FIA: Verstappen’s Monza penalty can’t be compared to Hamilton’s Silverstone one
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