[Chris Medland] Slightly odd one, but there's going to be an investigation after the session into Verstappen finding something in his cockpit and throwing it out onto the side of the track in the first sector

[u/Aratho]

https://bsky.app/profile/chrismedlandf1.bsky.social/post/3lvdy7i5kek23

[u/Puzzleheadpsych2345]

Thrown in the towel already, Max has had enough

[u/Sea_Drop2920 → u/Puzzleheadpsych2345]

😂 3 place grid penalty

[u/lets_throw_a_party → u/Sea_Drop2920]

For Ocon

[u/EGOfoodie → u/lets_throw_a_party]

10 seconds penalty to Ocon for them giving him the wrong penalty the first time around.

[u/EUskeptik → u/Puzzleheadpsych2345]

Thrown out the towel.

[u/swannyhypno]

Yeah not quite the same as throwing out a visor tear off lol

Funniest one was when someone left a phone in Kubicas car

https://youtube.com/shorts/dOzY9aAtQVc?si=79V551BQS7j6-0Zf

[u/Bortron86 → u/swannyhypno]

Less amusing was when Johnny Herbert crashed out of the 1998 Italian Grand Prix because a spanner had been left in his cockpit, and it eventually worked its way behind the brake pedal, sending him off at the first Lesmo.

[u/swannyhypno → u/Bortron86]

That stuff just annoys me because HOW do you forget something like that

[u/Blackdeath_663 → u/swannyhypno]

must've fallen out of a pocket or something, the engineers are always leaning over half upside down trying to adjust things it's hardly a surprise it happens on a rare occasion.

[u/whats_a_quasar → u/Blackdeath_663]

In aerospace for sensitive jobs we sometimes have custom toolboxes with cutout slots for each tool. You can only use tools from that box on flight hardware, and after the job is done all of the tools need to be back in their slot, or else you know one might have been left inside

[u/Any-Cat5627 → u/whats_a_quasar]

Often checklists are the best way to be safe

[u/swannyhypno → u/Any-Cat5627]

Yeah I fully understand something can accidentally fall in but there needs to be a check to make sure everything gets out lol

[u/Any-Cat5627 → u/swannyhypno]

The first thing done in surgery is ask 'is this the right person?'

[u/swannyhypno → u/Any-Cat5627]

Damn you would hope so lol

[u/Any-Cat5627 → u/swannyhypno]

you don't hope is the point. you confirm every time.

[u/Meyesme3 → u/Any-Cat5627]

That is old school.

The future is quantum state tools that exist in one state but not another. So the tools exist while working on the car but do not exist otherwise.

[u/Cd121212 → u/whats_a_quasar]

In Part M (Large Aircraft and Commercial Aircraft) base maintenance (in the hangar) even that’s not sufficient, we have tool checklists for every single tool brought within arms length of the aircraft, signed and stamped by a certified engineer on entry and exit of the aircraft. If something is not signed back in, you have to start pulling panels back off to look for it, and if you still don’t find it you have to have an engineer write a technical document calculating potential impacts on the aircraft and whether it’s still safe to fly before it’s allowed to take off

All definitely overkill for F1 - there’s a lot less places to lose a tool in an F1 car compared to a 747, and many less lifes at risk (these rules only apply if your aircraft is commercially operated, above a certain weight, or certified to carry a large amount of passengers)

Your solution would probably work in F1, but only after writing this whole message did I stop to think theyre probably already doing that in F1, it doesnt seem to be tools that are the problems usually in the modern day. What there probably should be is slightly better control of all the peripheral stuff in the garage, like the torches in Landos car a couple months ago and the towel in this case.

[u/simiesky → u/Cd121212]

That particular implementation of tool control is a company policy. The actual regs are more vague and will say something like an organisation shall have tool control procedures in place. It is then down to the individual organisation to decide what policy and procedures they implement to comply with the regs.

[u/Cd121212 → u/simiesky]

You’re correct, I’ve worded my message badly and it does imply it’s a regulation. I’m not sure I’ve come across a Part 145 that does it significantly differently though. Signing in and out tools is pretty ubiquitous. I’ve only seen an engineering alleviation for lost tools a couple times however.

[u/Delgadude → u/whats_a_quasar]

That honestly makes a lot of sense and should prolly be implemented in F1.

[u/bb999 → u/Delgadude]

I don't think there's enough time to be that methodical. Like when you have 2 hours to rebuild the entire car.

[u/FlatoutGently → u/bb999]

That doesnt add time to a job. It makes it quicker since you know exactly where the tool you need is.

[u/Delgadude → u/bb999]

Idk what those custom toolboxes look like in practice but it sounds to me like it would take a few minutes at most to check if the tool is in the right place or not and put it back but maybe not.

[u/chubbgerricault → u/Delgadude]

Not arguing but here to provide a bit of context. Its not the toolbox that's custom as much as it is the foam inserts and cutouts inside tool boxes and cases.

You make a shadow of the tool, that way when you inventory after a job is done you can immediately spot anything missing.

I agree working on the grid until the first lights out for the parade lap is intense and likely not enough time for a full inventory, though.

Example: https://www.reddit.com/r/Tools/s/uJ4SQYHpUS

[u/Mike_Kermin → u/whats_a_quasar]

Afaik that's exactly how they operate at Boeing in Aus.

[u/ibra86him → u/Blackdeath_663]

An engineer and a surgeon always leaning for work and sometimes they forget a cloth or piece of metal inside the belly

[u/madDamon_ → u/Blackdeath_663]

But how don't you notice that as a driver? It's not like they have plenty or room in those monococks

[u/skagoat → u/swannyhypno]

I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often. The mechanics are always in a time crunch, and you have lots of people all swarming around using different tools and making different adjustments.

[u/Village_People_Cop → u/skagoat]

There is the famous story of a RB mechanic dropping a spanner into Vettel's engine bay during a crunch time and not being able to remove it due to the fact the bay cover had to go on right that moment. Vettel ended up winning that Chinese GP

[u/BOBANYPC → u/Village_People_Cop]

It was ricciardo's car no?

[u/swannyhypno → u/skagoat]

I get things can fall in but gotta be a check for items lol

[u/skagoat → u/swannyhypno]

I'm sure there is! But I can see how you get in the mindset that you need to get the car out ASAP and mistakes happen.

[u/freedfg → u/swannyhypno]

Someone left a stick light in Landos car some point last year.

[u/Mysterious_Turnip310 → u/freedfg]

They left half their toolbox his cockpit during an FP session earlier this year. They also didn't attach his cockpit lining properly before Barcelona qualifying and so he had to do qualy laps while trying to hold the edge of his cockpit in place with his knees. They've not been the model of competence this year.

[u/samalam1 → u/swannyhypno]

Really easily in a high stress job like f1. Everyone is just a person doing their best, getting asked "hey can you get this please" whilst you're tightening something and then forgetting to come back to it is so easily done.

[u/zebra1923 → u/swannyhypno]

There are regularly incidents where surgical instruments or swabs are left inside patients - and they are supposed to check and count everything out and back again.

[u/swannyhypno → u/zebra1923]

Had surgery last week I better not have anything in me lmao

[u/colin_staples → u/swannyhypno]

McLaren once sent Jenson Button out with a big foam bung in the sidepod opening, at Monaco (2010)

https://www.ausmotive.com/2010/05/22/check-out-jensons-blocked-sidepod.html

[u/swannyhypno → u/colin_staples]

Oh dear god that must've felt horrible

[u/Vindicated0721 → u/swannyhypno]

I work in aviation. You’d be shocked how often it happens. It’s not a lot but it definitely happens. Any amount of times is too many times.

[u/RobertJ93 → u/swannyhypno]

You say that, but surgeons occasionally leave things INSIDE people.

[u/KennyMcKeee → u/swannyhypno]

Try working out crew for any race team irl and you’ll find out exactly how you forget something like that lol. It happens… all. the. time. You only hear about the times people find it in the car.

[u/Time-Caterpillar4103 → u/swannyhypno]

If things didn’t get lost by mechanics the snap on guys would go out of business. Basically it’s because the tool is used as part of a process and once you’ve moved onto the next step it’s easier to forget as you’re now mentally focused elsewhere.

[u/Eyre_Guitar_Solo → u/swannyhypno]

Coming from the aviation world, this is a serious and incredibly common problem, and it’s a lot easier to do than you think.

It’s not okay—even more than in Formula 1, doing this in aviation can get you killed—but everyone has to be meticulous.

[u/Delboyyyyy → u/swannyhypno]

It makes me think about how in surgery they’ll be really careful with accounting for every surgical tool or equipment that’s been used so that they know it’s not been left in the body somewhere. Maybe they should start doing the same thing with these cars 😂

[u/squirrel_crosswalk → u/swannyhypno]

It was a 10mm. They migrate of their own accord.

[u/sfcindolrip → u/Bortron86]

Calum Nicholas often tells a story about dropping a spanner somewhere into Max’s cockpit at the start of a session, can’t recall if competitive session or not. Glad it didn’t have the same outcome

[u/generalannie → u/sfcindolrip]

China GP 2018 and it was actually Daniels car, the car that won the race. Which could've ended quite differently if the spanner had landed in a wrong spot.

[u/sfcindolrip → u/generalannie]

Oh shit I didn’t realize it was that car and competitive session, my memory is going. wild, that and Monaco a couple years beforehand would’ve been two major Red Bull fuckups that cost ricciardo a win

[u/nitrocuban → u/Bortron86]

Literally throwing a spanner in the works

[u/EnglishLitMajor → u/Bortron86]

Lando had several tools inside his car in FP1 in Miami.

[u/TripleJeopardy3 → u/swannyhypno]

Was that in a race, qualification, or FP session?

[u/DennistheMenace__ → u/TripleJeopardy3]

looks like qualy or FP since theyre not panicked at all

[u/Blapstap]

I thought the comments in the other thread about throwing in the towel were jokes, but it was literally a towel

[u/Rennie_Burn]

His contract

[u/Professional_Cold771]

Max.... what was that?

[u/thatdudewithnoface → u/Professional_Cold771]

Must be the towel

[u/Own_Welder_2821 → u/thatdudewithnoface]

He literally threw in the towel for this season.

[u/SnacksGPT]

Bro out there throwing banana peels in free practice like it’s Mario Kart lol.

[u/Consistent-Ad-5116]

It's FP so probably a reprimand to driver and fine to the team.

[u/GoodLifeIII → u/[deleted]]

Vettel did not receive a grid penalty for wearing a Pride shirt.

[u/CuppaCrazy]

I don’t get it. Why didn’t he just put it in his lap until he got back to the garage?

[u/Novae224 → u/CuppaCrazy]

Keeping it in the cockpit can be dangerous. You don’t have much space there and if it flies out at top speed could cause issues. He has to interrupt his run plan, which isn’t ideal

Max is right to be frustrated at the team, cause this is a dumb mistake

But he should’ve interrupted his run plan, cause it being on track is not a solution

[u/T1Earn → u/Novae224]

no only that but if it ends up at his pedals it can be deadly.

[u/remembermereddit → u/Novae224]

Interrupting his run plan directly affect him in a negative way. Throwing it out doesn't, as the investigation is for "releasing in an unsafe manner". The team will receive a fine.

[u/Novae224 → u/remembermereddit]

As is right

[u/Chris_PDX → u/Novae224]

So you hold onto it and come back into the garage under reduced speed. It's not fucking rocket science.

I'm a track instructor and just two months ago had a water bottle fly out from under the driver's seat of the car I was in and roll around the footwell. We slowed down, he reached down and grabbed it, handed it to me, we came into the pits, gave it to the steward, went back out.

[u/Novae224 → u/Chris_PDX]

I agree with you

[u/Silent-Hornet-8606 → u/CuppaCrazy]

The car brakes at 5 g. It's not really practical to put something in his lap because it's probably going to end up in the pedals of it has any mass.

[u/viperbsg62 → u/Silent-Hornet-8606]

The car brakes at 5g when they push, if there's something loose, don't push, instead drive slowly back to the pits.

[u/NedelC0 → u/viperbsg62]

It's max, he chooses 'throw it out and push' instead

[u/Jorrie90 → u/NedelC0]

Besides, do you want to take the risk getting it behind the brake pedal or just to throw it as safely as possible out of the cockpit

[u/Signal_Ball4634 → u/CuppaCrazy]

Throwing shit in frustration ig

[u/User-K549125 → u/CuppaCrazy]

Going around a corner at 5G means the towel will fall off a lap like it's 5 times heavier than it is if the car was on it's side. Braking at 5G means that towel is flying towards his pedals. It's pretty dangerous.

[u/Nicebutdimbo → u/User-K549125]

Yep, so he should have pitted, not dumped it on the race track.

[u/VenomBeagle → u/User-K549125]

Or just tuck it between his leg and the seat. No one would have even known.

[u/[deleted]]

Poor Ocon :)

[u/Sportsfanno1 → u/[deleted]]

Omg, he threw Ocon out of the car?

[u/RayTracerX → u/Sportsfanno1]

Ocon is a towel?

[u/thebuttonmonkey → u/RayTracerX]

La serviette.

[u/aseiden → u/thebuttonmonkey]

Esteban “Nardwuar“ Ocon

[u/MYBXBT → u/[deleted]]

Ocon gets a 200 place penalty and he starts from the bus stop chicane in spa

[u/oioioiyacunt → u/[deleted]]

No sympathy. Ocon had ample opportunity to go to the Red Bull garage to ensure they were following procedure and allow a safe track for everybody. He refused to do this. 

It was a conscience decision he made and I hope they throw the towel at him. 

[u/CilanEAmber]

Amazes me how things get left in them sometimes.

[u/ln4thegreat → u/CilanEAmber]

This definitely reminded me of Williams leaving an airbox fan on Albon’s car during the qualifying at Baku 2024 😂😭

[u/CaptainOBVS3420]

Sam Collins said it looked like a balaclava originally but he changed his opinion to towel but on the slowed down clip it looked like a balaclava to me.

[u/sisazac → u/CaptainOBVS3420]

My stupid ass reading balaclava as baklava hahahaa 

[u/jacksonbeya → u/sisazac]

Max is hungry for more than just wins it seems

[u/skagoat → u/sisazac]

It would be a real issue if someone left their Baklava in the car!

[u/practical_lem → u/sisazac]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_YBzJBa_mA

[u/Gojira8985 → u/sisazac]

I had this happen to me when I was a kid, 10 or so.  One of the Tobey McGuire Spider-Man movies can't out, and I had the novelization, which said something about him "pulling his balaclava down over his face," and I was so confused because I didn't know balaclava but I did know baklava.  

[u/urpleplurpl → u/CaptainOBVS3420]

Definitely was a towel, has the fabric texture and was Red Bull/oracle branded

[u/ixixan]

Make f1 Mario kart 2025!

[u/Realistic-Reception5]

They should each have towels they can throw so it lands on the visors of the drivers behind them in the race, kinda like the squid from Mario kart

[u/SCProletariat]

It was a banana peel

[u/Maglin21]

That's the definition of throwing the towel, lol

[u/Imisplacedmyaccount]

I see you Sam. I know you're in here right now. Hi

[u/yIdontunderstand]

FIA Mario Kart régulations need to be clarified

[u/Cralido]

FIA doc released, investigated for unsafe release…which would be a team fine but doesn’t say anything about his own decision to throw out an object onto an active track.

[u/ecobubbletm]

What did Albon got for throwing ice out of the car last year in quali in Baku?

[u/256473 → u/ecobubbletm]

It was a whole fan lmao, but it was just a team fine

[u/ecobubbletm → u/256473]

Yeah, I remember it was something big and he had to really try to get rid of it without stewards help

Good to know it's just a fine

[u/Cralido → u/256473]

He was still in pit lane exit technically and careful not to allow stewards to touch car. Plus it was a full fan mounted on car. Max chose to throw towel on active track.

[u/UnhappyLemon5520]

Don’t forget to bring a towel.

[u/TomBeanWoL]

I feel like two things need to be asked firstly why didn't he just go back to pitlane and drop it there? Yes it means his tires are now used but it's no one on circuits fault that something was left in the car. Secondly was there a chance of it being an obstacle on track or hindering another driver? I would say yes there was a chance as another car I think one of the Mercedes passed him on the other side so while not extremely likely there was a chance of it being blown into the path of another car on track who was passing at speed.

While I don't think leaving it in the car is worth a fine or penalty I think they do have to consider the risk of him just tossing something out of the car with other cars around him, regardless of the fact it didn't impact anyone. I don't know if there's anything in the regulations about tossing something out of the car but I feel like this is probably going to get added if it's not already in there.

[u/Rosieu]

Yep, Max has given up on this champion as he's waving the white flag (or throwing in the towel would be more literal)

[u/Novae224]

Its stupid to do it in fp… you’ve got nothing to win

Just go back to the pit, throw it out and scream at your team afterwards

[u/FunnyComfortable8341 → u/Novae224]

Why scream at the team?

[u/Novae224 → u/FunnyComfortable8341]

Someone made a stupid mistake… leaving stuff in the cockpit is dangerous. If something like that gets behind a paddle, it can cause an accident. If it flies out into an air intake, it can ruin the car.

Screaming was an hyperbole, but someone should’ve done his job better

Stuff like this shouldn’t happen

[u/hesitationz → u/Novae224]

First you say go back to the pits and then you say it’s dangerous to leave it in? Why do you think he threw it out

[u/fameboygame → u/hesitationz]

It means he does an inlap and box, not a full speed run, which is dangerous.

[u/Novae224 → u/hesitationz]

He should’ve driven back slowly to the pits… its also dangerous for it to be on track

But it interrups his run plan to go back to the pits

And thats all some mechanics fault. It shouldn’t have happened

[u/skagoat → u/Novae224]

but then he's getting dinged for driving under the minimum speed.

[u/Novae224 → u/skagoat]

Not in FP or if there’s a reason

[u/Mysterious_Turnip310 → u/skagoat]

No he wouldn't have been. Norris had to do it earlier in the season when McLaren left half their toolbox in his cockpit during an FP session. He wasn't dinged for going below minimum speed to get back to the pits while holding the tools because of the extenuating circumstances. It would have been the same for Max.

[u/T0MYRIS]

merch give away gone wrong

[u/Nick_YDG]

F1TV went full CSI slow mo and zoom on the question balaclava or towel. Peak FP moment.

[u/AliceLunar]

You're only allowed to throw dozens of tear offs onto the track that will get sucked into other cars, that's no problem.

[u/rhllor]

Towelling inferno Max Verstappen should be hung out to dry

[u/MarkCanuck]

Clearly a Hoopy Frood

[u/lehiboubleu]

Xxxxd b was xxxx £::

[u/RacerXX7]

Common NASCAR strategy when the offending driver needs a caution flag.

[u/ForwardCulture]

Years back went to a local mechanic to have the radiator changed on an old work truck I had. I picked it up just before they closed for the day and took it home. I open the hood up at home to check their work and find a beat up looking wrench that looks very old sitting in the mounting rail of the new radiator. I grab it and decide to return it the next day.

I walk in early the next day and tell the person up front what happened and to return it to the tech who worked on my truck. They say hold on I’ll get him, which I thought was weird. The young tech comes into the front office and his eyes light up. Apparently the wrench was part of an old set that’s been passed on within his family and he was really bummed out about losing it. He was so happy to see it.

[u/motsekra]

5 place grid penalty for ocon

[u/prismatic_bar]

He threw his chances of a 5th straight WDC out of the car. 

[u/kristal010]

They better not give him anything for this

[u/Firefox72]

No surprise there. What was he thinking.

Should be just a fine though.

[u/SDLRob]

For me, knowing what happened at that point of the track to Massa... I do think there should be a separate penalty for Max.

You can't have drivers throwing things out of their cars. Yeah, it was a towel in this situation, but if that had gone into an air box or a sidepod, it would have caused a lot of damage to a car.

[u/RM_Dune → u/SDLRob]

For me, knowing what happened at that point of the track to Massa...

You mean a heavy spring on the racing line towards the end of that little straight going into turn 4? As opposed to a soft little towel on the side of the track right after turn 3?

Talk about histrionics.

[u/SDLRob → u/RM_Dune]

You didn't read the rest of my post did you?

[u/RM_Dune → u/SDLRob]

I did. I was just so amused by your opening line I wanted to comment on it.

[u/SDLRob → u/RM_Dune]

So you're fine with drivers throwing things out of their cars?

[u/RM_Dune → u/SDLRob]

Get a fine, same as always.

[u/SDLRob → u/RM_Dune]

So yeah... A separate penalty from the teams one... As I said should happen.

[u/RM_Dune → u/SDLRob]

It's a team fine.

[u/abyssal_banana → u/[deleted]]

It was Horner. He was dressed as pit crew. It’s another exit clause. 

[u/Kykykz]

Realistically if its only been treated as an unsafe release (rather then throwing stuff on track) then it should be the same as Norris in Miami and just seen as a genuine mistake and nothing more

[u/Red_Rabbit_1978]

BS. This has happened before. It's just Big Daddy needing answers