Did reigning Formula 1 World Champion Max Verstappen just called the F1 safety car a turtle? Yes, he did. The Dutchman did not mince words when he complained to the media about the safety car going “too slow” during its deployment at the Australian Grand Prix.
In case you didn’t know, since 2021, Formula One alternates between two safety cars: an Aston Martin V8 Vantage and a Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series.
During the 2022 Australian Grand Prix last week, the was deployed twice during the race, once when Carlos Sainz beached his in the gravel and another time after Sebastian Vettel crashed his Aston Martin.
“There's so little grip and also the safety car was driving so slow, it was like a turtle. Unbelievable,” Verstappen said after the race.
“To drive 140 [km/h] on the back straight, there was not a damaged car, so I don't understand why we have to drive so slowly. We have to investigate.
“The Mercedes safety car is faster because of the extra aero, because this Aston Martin is really slow. It definitely needs more grip, because our tyres were stone cold.
“It's pretty terrible the way we are driving behind the safety car at the moment.”
Unlike regular road cars, Formula 1 cars do not have regular cooling systems and rely on downforce and grippy compound tyres to corner safely, none of which works at low speeds hence Verstappen's complains.
Also, another reason the Mercedes-AMG GT safety car is faster is not just due to its aero package, on paper, the Mercedes also produces 730 PS which is much more than the Vantage’s 535 PS. With Formula 1 cars averaging around 1,000 PS, it is not a wonder that the Vantage would struggle to keep up.
Even the podium finishers of the Australian GP weighed in on the matter confirming that the safety car was indeed very slow.
After three races, the season does not look great for Verstappen. The world champion won once but retired twice while running in second position. Red Bull had remained mum about the cause of Verstappen’s fuel leak in Melbourne calling it “complex”.
At the moment, Verstappen is sixth in the standings, 46 points off current championship leader Leclerc, who has won the two races that Verstappen failed to finish.
Keyword: Max Verstappen calls Aston Martin safety car ‘a turtle’ after holding up his Honda-powered Red Bull. Prefers the Mercedes-AMG GT