David Croft rejects FIA's software excuse: 'This falls on the FIA'
Photo: Race Pictures
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David Croft has put the blame for the chaotic formation lap at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia on the FIA. The Sky Sports F1 commentator called the scenes at Sepang a "farce" and said the governing body cannot fall back on the argument that software bugs simply happen.
Croft was speaking on the F1 Show podcast, according to Sky Sports. He questioned why a scenario like the one that left several cars crawling or stopped on track had not been simulated before the season began.
GPblog has already covered the FIA's explanation of what went wrong and Croft's criticism is aimed squarely at that explanation.
Croft points to Barcelona and Bahrain testing
Croft's central argument is that the FIA had time to prepare. Cars ran before the season, and the year had been dry until Sepang.
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We had a shakedown in Barcelona and six days of testing in Bahrain before the season started. Why on earth were situations like this not tried out before we went racing?- David Croft, on the F1 Show podcast
He went on: "We've had dry weather all the time, so we've had plenty of time to simulate this, to stop it happening in front of hundreds of millions of people during the course of a race."
Croft also responded directly to FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis. "Nikolas Tombazis [FIA single-seater director] says there are bugs all the time with software. Behind the scenes, people are working on those bugs, and what they try and do is do updates during the night time when people aren't actually using their computers," he said.
"Not during the course of a Grand Prix, when someone has now suddenly realised we've got a situation on our hands."
'You are the governing body'
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The commentator was clear about where responsibility lies under the new power unit rules, which are almost 50 per cent electric.
This falls on the FIA. I'm sorry, but you are the governing body. You are supposed to have the upper hand when it comes to these rules and regulations, the directives, the power units and everything.- David Croft
"You weren't on top of things when it came to that race, and it was a farce," he added.
Tombazis had already admitted more testing would have helped
Croft's point lines up uncomfortably with what Tombazis said after the race. Speaking to reporters on Sunday, the FIA official said: "I think if we had had a bit more testing, we probably would have managed to catch it in time, and not have such a situation."
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This new generation of F1 cars had only been tested in the wet at a couple of Pirelli tyre tests earlier in the year, and the slow-speed conditions of the Sepang formation laps were never part of them. The FIA's own statement said the issue had not been detected by the governing body or the teams during testing or on the laps to the grid.
Croft wants simulations now, not after the next failure
Croft asked the FIA to look beyond this one bug and work through other ways the power units could fail before they come up in a race.
But sometimes taking a step back, identifying issues that could come during a season, during a scenario, and taking preventative measures is the best way forward, rather than just trying to react on the spur of the moment.- David Croft
"Let's go through other simulations, FIA, and other things that could go wrong with these power units. Let's get the bugs fixed and get the simulations in place now," he said.
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The FIA has promised a full review together with the teams and power unit manufacturers. Whether that review produces anything before Singapore, which will host its first ever Sprint weekend, is still an open question.
GPblog looked at what the patch means for a wet weekend at Marina Bay and asked the question, what happens if it rains in Singapore this weekend and the problem returns?
Photo: Race Pictures
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