Following an astonishing seven red flags during yesterday’s qualifying session, FIA officials summoned the drivers to a compulsory meeting after seven red flags in Macau GP qualifying.
This year’s Macau Grand Prix marked a significant change, as it was the first time Formula Regional cars were utilised—sitting just below the FIA Formula 3 Championship and above Formula 4 in the racing hierarchy.
The new cars introduced fresh challenges to the legendary Guia Street Circuit, known for its tight corners and unforgiving nature.
A report issued by the FIA stated: “All drivers were called to a second Drivers’ Briefing following the session, during which the Race Director, together with Single-Seater Committee President and two time Macau race winner Emanuele Pirro, expressed their concerns with some of the driving standards demonstrated during both today’s Free Practice 2 and Qualifying 2.
“The drivers have been asked specifically to consider their attitude towards this incredible racetrack, particularly as they go out on their opening laps.”
The second Qualifying session was originally intended to last 40 minutes but extended to nearly two hours due to multiple interruptions.
Six of the seven red flags were caused by crashes, underscoring the difficulties faced by the pilots. Drivers were ultimately summoned to compulsory meeting by FIA after seven red flags in Macau GP qualifying
The first incident occurred just a little over seven minutes into the session when Rintaro Sato of TGM Grand Prix lost control of his car at Moorish Hill. This led to a chain reaction involving Prema drivers Alex Dunne and Dino Beganovic.
As the session progressed, further crashes ensued at the same treacherous spot. R-ace GP’s Tuukka Taponen crashed with 28 minutes remaining, and soon after, TOM’S driver Jin Nakamura hit the barriers at the final turn.
The incidents continued, including a collision involving Australia’s James Wharton, who received a three-place grid penalty for causing another crash.
After additional red flags for barrier repairs and further incidents—such as TOM’S Rikuto Kobayashi crashing at Fisherman’s Bend and a collision involving ART Grand Prix teammates Wharton and Evan Giltaire—the session concluded prematurely due to the seventh red flag, called with just over three minutes left.
In light of the tumultuous qualifying session, drivers were summoned to a second briefing, where the Race Director and Single-Seater Committee President Emanuele Pirro expressed their concerns regarding the driving standards exhibited.
The FIA report highlighted the need for drivers to reconsider their approaches to the demanding track, especially during their initial laps.
Speaking to Pit Debrief, the drivers shared their thoughts on managing the challenges of the Macau circuit. Ugo Ugochukwu remarked, “Yeah, of course, it’s a really tricky track. Those high-speed corners, and being a street track, obviously there’s no room for mistakes.
“I think that’s a really important thing, trying to be as much of the runway as possible, but of course, without hitting the walls.
“So yeah, I think it’s really important to kind of initially build into it, but yeah, when it gets to the end of the quali, I think you just have to push a little bit more, you know, have a bit more risks.
“But at the end of the day, I think that’s where you’re going to make a lot of time, and yeah, improve your position.”
Oliver Goethe added, “Yeah, just building off of what Hugo said today, it’s about building up at the end of qualifying to not, you know, keep it out of the walls, because that’s when the lap time has to be done.
“You [interviewer] said we’ve all been to Macau, but this is the first time we’re driving in the dry this weekend, so there’s still a lot to learn for the drivers. And at the end, it was really fun to go out there and push so much, push the limits so much, keeping it out of the walls.”
Noel León explained the difficulties of not having a dry session prior to qualifying, saying, “Yeah, obviously, as the drivers say, it’s pretty difficult to not have a dry session before qualifying, and you know that this qualifying is going to count, because yesterday was wet, so basically you depend on this qualifying.
“But you need to think on and build the session, you need to try and complete the last lap, because it’s where the drivers are going to be in the best, and as well, you’re going to have more confidence in yourself. So yeah, you just need to have calm and a lot of confidence in yourself.”
