The recent incidents in the pitlane have prompted the FIA to look into safety measures to prevent a repeat of the pit lane dramas so far in 2018, not least Ferrari's disaster in Bahrain which left a mechanic with a broken leg.
FIA race director Charlie Whiting has denied that removing pit stop traffic lights would make F1 pitstop safer.
After a recent surge in pit lane incidents and unsafe releases, there has been a call to ensure that the process of a pit stop is made safer, for example, the return of the manual system of a lollipop man at the front of the car.
Whiting, however, denies that there is an inherent issue with the procedures in place by teams up and down the pitlane, maintaining that there shouldn't bee a knee-jerk reaction to recent events.
“If you just have a torque sensor (on the wheel gun) you can gun the nut on and it can be cross-threaded and it’ll show the required torque but it won’t be tight, which is what happened to the Haas cars for example and to McLaren.
“Some teams have got that as well as a position sensor so if it gets the required torque and it hasn’t moved the right amount then it says it’s not done. If you’ve got a stroke sensor and a torque sensor – two inputs – the operator gets a green light on his gun, then he says it’s done. So you’re using two sensors to tell the operator it’s actually done up, he presses a button, both jacks drop and the car goes.”
When asked if there should be a different system in place such as the lollipop system due to safety concerns, he rebuffed claims that the system would improve safety.
"I don't think so.
"I can't think there's any evidence for that".
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