Whiting explains reason for aborted start

The Australian Grand Prix got off to a delayed start on Sunday, after the initial start was aborted by race control.

The cars were lined up on the starting grid after the formation lap when the yellow lights started flashing. That meant the drivers had to set off for a second tour of the Albert Park Circuit.

It was initially unclear why the first attempt to start the race had been waved off. Television pictures showed drivers further down the order struggling to get into the correct grid position because of the gap left by Daniel Ricciardo's absence. The Red Bull was still being fixed after earlier breaking down, eventually starting two laps down from pit lane.

"I aborted the start because there was uncertainty," Whiting told Autosport magazine after the race. "I always want to be certain, or as certain as one can be, that all is well before pressing the start button.

"Firstly, [Sergio] Perez had pulled up in the wrong position. But after a few seconds in that position he began pulling forward," he explained.

"At the same time, the marshal responsible for the light panel beside [Daniil] Kvyat's car pressed the yellow button which indicated a problem."

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Whiting said that no one in race control was able to see any problem on the Toro Rosso. However a fire extinguisher had gone off in the car earlier in the day. That was enough to make Whiting err on the side of caution on this occasion.

"There was nothing wrong with Kvyat's car nor did he make any signal," confirmed Whiting. "It may well have been a case of nerves on the part of the marshal."

Since no driver had actually caused the aborted start, no one was penalised or made to get underway from the pit lane on this occasion.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.