That immediately got out of hand. Following the Australian Grand Prix last weekend, a number of top drivers complained that the Aston Martin Vantage safety car wasn't moving fast enough. And now the FIA has felt compelled to use its nuclear option to intervene: yeah, a strongly worded statement.

"In view of recent criticisms about the FIA Formula 1 Safety Car's speed, the FIA would like to emphasize that the fundamental function of the FIA Formula 1 Safety Car is, of course, the safety of the drivers, marshals, and officials."

"Depending on the incident, the Safety Car procedures take into account multiple objectives, such as the requirement to 'bunch up' the field, negotiate recovery or debris on track in a safe manner, and adjust the pace based on recovery activities that may be ongoing in a different part of the track."

"The Safety Car's speed is thus generally dictated by Race Control, rather than the capabilities of the Safety Cars, which are bespoke high-performance vehicles prepared by two of the world's top manufacturers, equipped to deal with changing track conditions at all times, and driven by a hugely experienced and capable driver and co-driver."

"The effect of the Safety Car's speed on the performance of the cars behind it is a secondary issue, as the impact is the same for all competitors, who, as usual, are responsible for driving safely at all times according to the conditions of their car and the circuit."

There's a lot to unpick there. The issue is tyre temperatures: if the safety car can't maintain a particular speed, the drivers behind it won't be able to pump enough heat into the rubber to make it, well, grip. And when 20 cars are speeding towards a tight turn at over 200 mph with no grip, it's a terrible situation.

However, as the FIA correctly points out, the field must occasionally slow down on particular areas of the circuit to allow the marshals to do their jobs safely. As a result, there's a delicate line to be drawn.

Clearly, some drivers thought the Vantage - which alternates each race with an AMG GT Black Series - was being urged to be too careful in portions of the circuit that were clear, or just didn't have the AMG's pace. The Aston Martin was dubbed a "turtle" by Max Verstappen, and race winner Charles Leclerc remarked afterwards that he "wanted to protest, but then I checked how much the safety car was sliding in the corner, and I don't think there was anything else he could give."

The question now is whether the FIA will insist on modifications that allow the Aston to close the gap between the two safety cars, which George Russell estimates to be "five seconds each lap." Is it just a shrug and a directive to the drivers to get on with it? That statement's last paragraph suggests the latter...