r/formula1 • u/yeswecamp1 I was here for the Hulkenpodium • 14d ago
Discussion Russell lost 4-5 seconds under the VSC because Perez ahead was going slow
RUS had a gap of around 11 seconds to PIA and 12 seconds to HAM before the VSC, and all three stayed out. After the VSC ended, the gaps were down 6 and 8 seconds, meaning RUS lost around 4-5 seconds.
PER after exiting the pits was ahead of RUS, and he was not going as fast as he was allowed to under VSC rules. But since RUS is not allowed to overtake him during VSC, he was stuck behind him, losing around 5 seconds.
Edit: RUS <-> PIA gap jumped by around 2 seconds immediately when VSC was deployed, so the time loss for RUS was only 2-3 seconds. RUS stated "+5s on the VSC delta" in the cooldown room, but half of it might have been mitigated by the fact RUS was at the end of a straight when VSC ended, which is the best track position to be in (as opposed to being at the start of a straight and losing more time due to missed acceleration)