Opinions split in IndyCar’s delayed caution debate

Credit: FOX Sports

Eyebrows were raised on Sunday as IndyCar’s race control delayed the deployment of a caution on two separate occasions after incidents at Laguna Seca.

The first instance of this came after Rinus VeeKay found himself beached in the Turn 3 gravel on Lap 25 after being hit from behind by Kyle Kirkwood. His Dale Coyne Racing machine was clearly stranded, but with the incident occurring mid-pit sequence, IndyCar delayed calling a yellow until the race leaders had the chance to pit before the pits closed.

In a different situation on Lap 77, IndyCar waited to neutralise the race in anticipation that a stalled car could restart itself using the hybrid system. Marcus Ericsson ran wide exiting Turn 6, which sent him into a spin and left his car precariously sideways on the track atop a blind crest for an entire lap before a caution was called.

There has been a long-time debate surrounding covering incidents with local yellow flags and waiting for drivers to pit before going full-course yellow, while the hybrid restart system has added another complexion to delaying cautions on road and street courses.

Opinions among drivers and the wider IndyCar world have been left split…

Delaying a yellow to allow pit stops

It is not a new thing that IndyCar waits to allow drivers to pit before going yellow, despite there being an incident on track. In fact, the exact same predicament happened during the 2024 running of the Grand Prix of Monterey with Marcus Armstrong’s car stopped on track.

“There are pros and cons to it,” Christian Lundgaard reacted. “The one with VeeKay in Turn 3 I think was more fair in a sense because you see him parked in the gravel. You’re not really going to end up there unless you really aren’t paying attention. 

“IndyCar has been consistent with that. Not necessarily to say that I agree with it but I do appreciate that they are consistent with it.”

Credit: Chris Owens

But with scope to push the boundaries without a caution, can you rely on drivers to fully respect the local yellows as Lundgaard suggests? 

You would hope so at this level. But with safety at stake, there is an argument that an element of ‘trust’ is not enough until the race is neutralised as a whole.

While IndyCar’s intentions are creditable in trying not to disadvantage the race leaders, the sole purpose of cautions are to prevent unsafe situations. And a car being left stranded in the gravel for an entire lap and unable to be cleared - especially at the end of the run out of pit lane, where drivers are exiting on cold tyres - would appear to qualify as ‘unsafe’.

Another strand to the argument is that teams and drivers are all aware of the ‘danger zone’, whereby some of the lead group pit and those yet to stop are susceptible to a caution falling. Should that happen before they stop, they would fall down the order by stopping once the pits reopen during the caution when the field is packed up.

It is a known element of IndyCar strategy that extending a stint leaves you at risk of being caught out by a yellow. It has become the nature of the game, particularly on ovals. 

Is that fair in itself? Debatable. Though luck has always been part and parcel of motorsport.

In the case of VeeKay being in the gravel at Turn 3 on Sunday, the majority of the leaders - including top two Álex Palou and Colton Herta - had not yet stopped. Given they are at the head of the race, you can understand the sentiment of trying to give them the chance to pit.

“They should keep the pits open as long as they can and allow the leaders to pit at every opportunity,” Herta said. “I think it’s not fair to be one of the faster ones and qualify well and have your day screwed by a yellow. 

Credit: Travis Hinkle

“It’s happened to everybody in this series. But when you run up at the front more consistently, it burns you more often. It’s something that I think is a real plus from IndyCar. I think it’s fair and should continue to happen.”

But there is a flip side to that coin. In trying not to disadvantage the leaders on track at the time of an incident, waiting for them to pit then disadvantages those who stopped earlier - in Sunday’s case including front-row starter Pato O’Ward from third.

It would have been cruel and hugely unlucky for race leader Palou to have been caught out by a caution having been dominating the race. But if someone is always going to get disadvantaged anyway, in a situation where safety is at the fore with an incident on track, should everything not be done to make the situation as safe as possible?

It is a balancing act between ensuring a fair outcome and maximising safety and there is not really a way for IndyCar to win. But subjectivity coming into a safety matter does not sit too well. 

Waiting for a stranded car to restart

The late-race caution-delaying incident ventures into a different manner in which it felt as though safety was compromised. And from the outside, it feels like a more clear-cut miss.

Before the hybrid era, there may have been no second thought given to throwing an immediate caution. Given where Ericsson’s car sat, strewn across the track atop a hill - where, as O’Ward’s ‘Drivers’ Eye View’ helmet camera footage showed, it could not be seen until drivers reached the summit - this likely should have still been the case.

But given the onboard starter and Ericsson frantically trying to get his car moving again, there was a delay to try and keep the race green. There should really have been a cut-off time, though, rather than leaving the car in such a dangerous position for so long.

To have got rolling again, Ericsson would have had to dangerously manoeuvre across the track too. 

Credit: FOX Sports

“Happy to not get hit while sitting at a blind spot on the track for three laps…” Ericsson tweeted. And while it may not have been quite that long, the fact it felt that way does speak to the terror of helplessness in his position.

Again, there were local yellow flags. But especially on this occasion given the lack of visibility of Ericsson’s car until late - even if it was off the natural racing line - one lapse in concentration from a driver could have caused a T-bone crash. 

“I was definitely driving around thinking: ‘Why is there a car sideways - well, technically backwards - going into the Corkscrew and we’re green for two laps?’” Lundgaard recalled. “Yes, there’s a local yellow. But if someone isn’t really paying attention, changing a switch on the steering wheel, it can go terribly wrong.”

It is ultimately a lot of faith to place in the drivers. You would not expect anything to go wrong at this professional level, but with safety at play, working off assumptions is not enough.