Nicholas Latifi has rejected the theory of both Mercedes drivers as to the cause of the restart crash at Mugello.
The Canadian was one of four cars taken out on the main straight as he was hit by Antonio Giovinazzi after the Italian had collided with the slow-moving Haas of Kevin Magnussen.
After the race, 12 drivers were warned by the stewards for having been seen as contributing towards the crash, but both Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton argued the late switching off of the Safety Car lights, which tells the drivers it is pulling into the pit-lane, instead created the dangerous situation.
“When the Safety Car lights go out too late when you’re the leader, you always want it to come off as early as possible so you can just start controlling your pace,” the Williams driver said.
“At the same time, with Valtteri in the lead, I’d be very surprised if he went earlier if the Safety Car lights went off earlier. For me, he would have waited to still be as late as he did because you want to minimize the slipstream effect.
“So let’s say even if the car lights went out at the beginning of the lap and then he had a whole lap, I guarantee you he would probably still want to go at the same place because that would have been the smart thing to do.”
Instead, Latifi believes F1 should look at alternative rules for venues where there is a long run to the start/finish line from the final corner.
“Going forward, I think maybe on a case by case basis on certain tracks, so mainly here, if we come back, and a track like Baku, maybe they just have to think about implementing something a bit different,” he added.
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“It’s a difficult judgement to make, but definitely, I think there has to be, let’s say, a bit more discipline from all the drivers in situations like that, too. Not be nose to tail in case something like that happens, but to keep a reasonable gap.
“Because I truly think the accident was caused by some drivers in the mid-pack leaving too big a gap and accelerating flat out into that gap thinking: ‘Oh, now I’ve got to get close because the race is about to restart.”
