Planet-F1

Heidfeld hits out at 'stupid' rule

Wednesday 30th April 2008

BMW's Nick Heidfeld has slammed Formula One's Safety Car rules after it "ruined" his Spanish Grand Prix.

Heidfeld was sitting pretty in the top five in Barcelona when Heikki Kovalainen crashed into a tyre wall on Lap 22, after which the Safety Car was deployed.

Under new rules the pit lane is closed for the first few laps of any Safety Car period and any driver who pits during the period receives a 10 second stop-and-go penalty.

Heidfeld was forced to choose between running out of fuel or a penalty. He chose the latter and then dropped back to the back of the pack.

"The accident happened in Lap 22 - shortly before my first pit stop," he wrote on his website column.

"My engineer told me to pit but I had just passed the pit entry. Then the Safety Car came out and the pit lane was closed.

"I then tried to save fuel and delay my pit stop, but in the end it was the choice between running out of fuel on the track or getting a stop-and-go penalty.

"That was bad luck and it ruined my race. I have always thought that this rule was stupid.

"For weeks we have talked and tried to find a better solution. Luck or bad luck should not play a role in Formula One. But right now this rule exists and therefore it was logical that I had to serve a stop-and-go penalty."