We saw again at the Spanish Grand Prix a race ruined by the new safety car rules introduced at the start of last season. The revised rules mean that while the safety car (SC) is being deployed, the pit lane is closed to stop drivers speeding past an incident to try and pit while the safety car is on track, gaining a net advantage while the field is compressed. Drivers may not enter the pit lane until given the OK by race control, and if they do so when the lane is ‘closed’ they will incur a ten second stop-go penalty.

The reason given for this was safety concerns – despite the fact that to date there has not been an incident occurring which would prompt this measure being introduced. What there have been, are several races ruined because at the time the SC was deployed, individual drivers needed to pit for fuel – as per their strategy.

During the Spanish GP it was BMW-Sauber driver Nick Heidfeld who had his race compromised in this fashion. After the crash of McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen, the SC picked up the lead driver who was at the time, Heidfeld. The German driver still had three laps of fuel left in his car, and had just passed the pit entry when he was notified that the safety car was deployed, thus rendering it too late for him to pit on that lap while the lane was still ‘open’. It soon became clear that we were in for a relatively long stint behind the safety car and as Heidfeld would have run out of fuel, he had no choice but to refuel when the pit lane was still officially closed, thus incurring a ten second stop-go penalty. This meant that Heidfeld was dropped back in the pack from fifth place (where he had rejoined after his stop) to dead last. A stellar effort from Heidfeld saw him eventually finish ninth, just out of the points.

At the end of the race Heidfeld was in ninth place, and finished 63.1 seconds behind eventual winner, Kimi Raikkonen. Without the approximately thirty seconds lost from the stop-go penalty, hypothetically Heidfeld should have been able to finish in 5th place, and thus obtain four points. At the start of the race Heidfeld was only three points behind Championship leader Raikkonen, but the nett result of the penalty was that he now lies in 5th place with sixteen points to his name. Had Heidfeld scored during this race he would still be trailing Raikkonen, but only by nine points, instead of thirteen. At the end of the season, those four points could make a huge difference – just ask Fernando Alonso.

Alonso was caught out in exactly the same situation in Canada last year. The nett result of that stop-go penalty saw Alonso finish in 7th place, only obtaining two points. Had he not lost around twenty seconds completing the penalty, hypothetically he would have finished the race in second position, thus garnering an extra six championship points. At the season closer in Brazil, Alonso lost out winning the World Drivers Championship title to Raikkonen by one point. So in that case, not only was a race ruined but it cost a driver a potential World Championship victory as well.

Of course the SC deployment will play havoc with race strategies. It is impossible to predict when or even if one will be deployed, and the SC sometimes will even work in the favour of a driver if he manages to be in the pit lane at exactly the right time.

That is just how the cookie crumbles in F1. You win some, you lose some. But these rules actively penalise a driver for his strategy – which in most cases are devised before the race even starts and allow little room for adjustment.

Should a driver be forced to stop on track – thus generating another SC period – and incur the wrath of his team and the ridicule of the fans because he ran out of fuel? And should he be penalised for taking his refuelling stop at the pre-planned time, simply because the SC was out on track?

I think not.

The potential problems with this rule were pointed out by many people before the 2007 season started. Nevertheless, the rule was added to the weighty tome that is the F1 rulebook, and enforced rigorously.

Races – and Driver Championships – should be won out on the track, by competitive wheel to wheel racing. Not because of some questionable rule that the FIA has dreamt up in response to a situation that has never actually happened.

There have been many compromise solutions to the problem offered including race control activating a speed limiter on all the cars when the SC is deployed, a speed limit in place to make your way back to the pits when the race is yellow flagged, ban refuelling altogether, or drivers only given a penalty if they pitted under SC unnecessarily. All those suggestions have merit, but also have failings. Furthermore they will add even more complex rulings and confusion to the rulebook which already struggles under its vast weight.

The only short term solution is to add this rule to the scrap heap, where it belongs.