Buxton’s blog: Consequences versus causes after Germany

NBC Sports Network Formula One pit reporter and insider Will Buxton wrote a blog post in the wake of the recent changes issued by the FIA after the German Grand Prix pit incident where an errant tire struck an FIA cameraman. On Tuesday, the FIA instituted a ban on all personnel in the pit lane other than crewmembers, course marshals, and approved media, who will be confined to the pit wall.

The post, “Dealing with consequence, ignoring the cause,” notes that the changes issued by the FIA fail to actually deal with the problem of errant tires and rushed pit stops. Instead, the steps issued appear a reactionary move to the outcome of what happened to cameraman Paul Allen.

Buxton explains the difference between FOM and FIA regulations on the matter. Here’s an excerpt from the post:

Well, the only thing that has really changed from this perspective is that the FOM RF cameramen will now be limited to the pitwall and will not be roaming in the pits themselves. But this decision had already been announced by Bernie Ecclestone in the immediate aftermath of Paul Allen’s injury at the weekend. It was a smart move in the short term, made without fuss and fanfare.

The FIA release is quite the opposite. It screams of wanting to be seen to be doing something, whilst in reality doing very little.

It’s an important piece to view after the pit incident, with the changes issued now likely to make an impact on how news is relayed to viewers from pit reporters from the Hungarian Grand Prix onwards.