Following the Austrian Grand Prix last weekend, Formula One is assembling at Silverstone as the half way point of the 2024 season arrives. Yet there are a number of disgruntled voices complaining over how the FIA is handling a range of on track incidents.
The topic of track limits at each circuit has become the go to conversation as year on the the sport’s governing body attempts to resolve a number of issues surrounding this topic. The worst offender in 2023 was the Red Bull Ring in Austria with some 1200 track limits violations being noted by the stewards during and after the Grand Prix.
Changes to turn nine and ten in particular and the re-introduction of gravel appeared to resolve much of the difficulties the stewards have faced over the years in Styria, yet despite having gravel at turn six, the stewards still felt it necessary to intervene. Lewis Hamilton on his first qualifying run fell foul of the white lines there and his times deleted.
Piastri loses four places
The biggest loser for track limits violation at turn six was Oscar Piastri. On his final qualifying run the Australian was adjudged to be over the line and his grid slot of P3 was relegated down to P7. Neither Hamilton or Piastri appeared to gain an advantage given the gravel was lurking and the stewards’ obsession with the last millimetre of track limits is irritating drivers and teams alike.
Lando Norris received a five second penalty for exceeding track limits several times at turn three. Yet the British driver explains the stewards applying the letter of the law is making a farce of drivers trying to race.
“It’s pretty silly, to be honest,” said Norris ahead of this weekend’s British Grand Prix. “I’ve tried to do an overtake, I’ve locked up, I’ve gone off the track just, and tried then to avoid the sausage kerb.
“Then immediately I gave the position back to Max, so I probably lost a second and a half in doing that. It’s clearly not a penalty. I’ve lost out in doing such a thing. These sorts of things will avoid people racing. If you don’t want us to race and don’t want me to try and overtake and have a boring race, then you can have these rules.”
Norris questions FIA interpretation
Each time Norris attempted a pass at this corner he was adjudicated to have chalked up ‘one strike’. Three strikes and the driver gets a black and white flag which is followed by a five second time penalty.
“I’m sure it’s something that has already been brought up, because there’s a difference between going off track and gaining an advantage and going off because you’ve made a silly mistake and you’ve not judged something perfectly.
“The fact you get punished for that, especially in a racing situation, especially when I have given it up even more time, it just doesn’t make sense. So, it’s something I hope they fix quickly.”
Fernando Alonso too has issues with the stewards interpretation of the rules. In Austria the Spaniard has given two penalty points and 10 second penalty for causing a collision with Kick Sauber driver Zhou at turn three.
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The Aston Martin driver accepts he deserved the time penalty but believes the penalty points awarded was unjust, given the incident was a “mistake” not “dangerous driving.”
“I think when penalty points were introduced, it was to avoid dangerous drivers to keep [from] accumulating penalties without a race ban,” Alonso told assembled media. “Just to avoid dangerous manoeuvres and putting in danger anyone on track.
“I think now we are mistaking racing mistakes for dangerous driving. I made a racing mistake in Turn 3 and I hit Zhou Guanyu and I deserve 10-second penalty. I think maybe Nico in the race made a racing mistake and you pay the price.”
The penalty points system was introduced following the huge crash caused by Romain Grosjean a the start of the 2014 Belgium Grand Prix. The Frenchman received a one race ban and a €50,000 fine.
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Grosjean forced the rule change
“I think this was back when [Romain] Grosjean had the accident in Spa with Lewis and myself involved and things like that, and it was a race ban in Monza that year,” Alonso remarked.
“Now I think it’s definitely we’ve never had so many rules as we have now. We cannot overtake on the pit lane, we cannot go fast on the pit lane, we cannot go slow on track, we cannot do basically anything.
And yeah, this is probably over-regulated and as drivers we feel frustrated sometimes, teams as well. But we need to find a solution between all of us. We cannot leave the FIA alone on this, we need to propose something that is better than the current rules. And this is something that we need to do between all of us.”
Norris agrees with Alonso who argues the spectre of “danger” is grossly overstated. Drivers used to make the decision themselves whether an overtake had been made illegally and to either Gove back the position or be handed a five/ten second penalty.
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“What I don’t get is the danger involved from those manoeuvres, because there is no danger,” Alonso continues.
“We are taking away the incentive to try an overtaking manoeuvre. Because if you make a racing mistake, you will get penalised with penalty points.
“So it’s better sometimes to stay behind because they are just promoting only DRS overtaking because you cannot make an attempt to pass anyone because it’s going to be penalty points for one of the two drivers.
“So this is for me wrong.”
There is little sign the FIA are set to change their approach which since the election of president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has been to regulate the driving standards incrementally.
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As has been said before, Carlos Sainz is the current cork in the bottle neck of the Formula One driver market. The Spaniard has been forced out of Ferrari following there decision by those above Fred Vasseur to recruit Lewis Hamilton for the next two seasons.
Sainz has an open offer on the table from Williams, a long term conversation has been taking place with Audi even before Carlos was effectively dismissed and now the appointment of Flavio Briatore to Alpine sees another option on the table for the three times Grand Prix winner.
Despite James Vowles stating publicly in Canada that Sainz was Williams “number one target” and a draft press release prepared to announce the move in Spain, Sainz is now dragging his feet presumably because he believes there is a better option about to open up…. READ MORE
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Give a manager his position and he will make his mark, as bin Sulayem has demonstrated. He’ll not be happy even when he gets himself the power to decide race results himself, without the need for drivers’ input.