Ferrari told Vettel to stop immediately for 'safety reasons'

Ferrari Formula 1 team principal Mattia Binotto says Sebastian Vettel was instructed to stop his car immediately following his MGU-K failure because it was the safest thing to do.

Vettel came to a halt in his SF90 with an engine-related issue shortly after his pit stop on Lap 28 and was told to stop his car straightaway by Ferrari as he peeled off into the Turn 16 run-off area.

The incident prompted a Virtual Safety Car to be deployed, which ironically played into the hands of Ferrari’s rivals Mercedes, enabling the long-running Lewis Hamilton to retain his lead with what was effectively a free pit stop amid the VSC speed restrictions.

“We got a problem on the power unit, on the hybrid side of the power unit, and we got a loss of insulation on the car,” Binotto explained.

“For safety reasons, we called [Sebastian Vettel] to stop immediately.

“Of course it’s a shame, because 100 metres later was the pit lane, but it was the safest action we could do for Seb, and the safety aspects.”

VSC a ‘very simple’ call - FIA

FIA race director Michael Masi said there “wasn’t even a second thought” over the decision to deploy a VSC, given the unsafe nature of Vettel’s Ferrari and its positioning on the circuit.

“The car was unsafe, effectively from an electronics point of view, and it stayed unsafe until the end of the race,” Masi added.

“So, to recover it in the safest possible manner, and putting marshals out there to do so, it was a very simple decision to put out the VSC.

“Moving it back into that hole, because of the electrical issue that there was with the car, we made sure it was that it was well and truly in a safe position until going forward.

“Because of the electronics, the green light on top for our indication, and immediately our guys came over and said the car is unsafe from an electronics point of view.

“So, from our end we need to be far more cautious. It’s a very simple VSC. There’s a reason why there’s a whole load of tecpro there, it’s because people can go off. It wasn’t even a second thought.”