‘Transparency’ is currently a word in vogue in Formula One with Zak Brown recently calling for the FIA to intervene in the Red Bull “inappropriate behaviour” investigation into team boss Christian Horner.  The McLaren CEO’s appeal to the FIA followed a statement from Red Bull GmbH which dismissed out of hand the allegations and claimed the investigation had been “fair, rigorous and impartial” and stated further details would not be released “out of respect for all concerned.”

Never one to be left out of handing Red Bull a good kicking, Toto Wolff joined the chorus stating: “I simply think as a sport, we cannot afford to leave things in the vague and in the opaque on critical topics like this, because this is going to catch us out.”

Last weekend at the USGP, fans of the sport were left bemused by the F1 race stewards decisions over track limits which appeared to differ when applied to Yuki Tsunoda, George Russell and Lando Norris. Now TJ13 can reveal the FIA have a secret publication which provides guidelines on how the stewards should interpret the regulations over driving standards.

 

 

 

Confusion over race stewards decisions

George Russell was given a five second time penalty for pushing Valtteri Bottas wide at turn 12, something the Brit was to reflect on as “a touch harsh” after the chequered flag had fallen. Yuki Tsunoda was also penalised for running Alex Albon out of road and Pierre Gasly too was punished whiles attempting an overtake on the Williams driver.

Yet the two biggies the stewards were required to rule on involved the rivals competing for the drivers’ championship this season. The first was lap one turn one, where Max Verstappen squeezed down the inside of pole sitter Lando Norris, braked later than the McLaren driver forcing Norris to run wide in turn one.

This allowed fourth place starter Charles Leclerc to slip inside the duelling pair to take the lead of the race which he would not relinquish. Whilst a number of commentators called foul on the move by Max, the F1 rule book allows the FIA race stewards to treat first lap incidents differently from when they happen later in the race because lap one of a Grand Prix is often frenetic with all the drivers battling close together for position.

Whether this is a good enough reason for the stewards not to interfere at a Grand Prix start is a question for another article, but for now that is the way the rules are framed, so pretty much anything goes before the lap counter ticks over to the number two.

“He said he was going to f**k me”

 

 

 

McLaren furious with steward decision

Of the five track limits incidents before the stewards, the one which caused the biggest hoo-ha happened on lap 52 and was the result of Lando Norris harrying Max Verstappen for the previous several laps.

The McLaren driver had made a number of repeated attacks which Verstappen had defended with precision, but this time Norris was closer and even drew slightly along the straight before the turn. Seeing Lando alongside him, Max rolled his car deeper into the corner before braking to reclaim the all important apex of the turn which was key to the stewards resulting decision.

Both cars left the circuit, but with Norris keeping his foot in he emerged ahead on track for which the stewards quickly penalised him for “leaving the track and gaining a lasting advantage.”

McLaren’s team principal was infuriated after the race, accusing the stewards of not considering the matter properly in their haste to make a decision before the final few laps of the Grand Prix had elapsed.

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Verstappen lurches towards the apex

Having sat late into the night on a number of occasions before issuing the final classified result for a Grand Prix notably Austria in 2023, the stewards are keen to have the result finally declared as close to the chequered flag as possible.

Andreas Stella expressed his irritation at the stewards questioning why they failed to discuss the matter with the drivers first before deciding Norris was at fault and his beef was with the stewards call on who had the right to the corner.

“Car 4 [Norris] was overtaking Car 1 [Verstappen] on the outside, but was not level with Car 1 at the apex. Therefore under the Driving Standards Guidelines, Car 4 had lost the ‘right’ to the corner,” said the statement from the stewards.

“I think the ‘ahead at the apex’ in relation to the interpretation of the overtaking manoeuvre is not the relevant bit,” argued Stella. “The defending car [Verstappen] goes just straight at the apex. We checked the video multiple times. It’s just going straight. It’s going off track, as much as Lando is doing, giving no chance for Lando to complete the manoeuvre.”

Tsunoda ‘road rage’ return concerns RBR bosses

 

 

 

Guidelines adapted following Verstappen/Hamilton duels

So the debate comes down to the secret “Driver Standards guidelines” which the FIA no longer publishes. This was not always the case and in fact following a string of similar incidents between Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris, the 2022 driver standards guidelines were modified.

Then, the guidelines stated: “The car being overtaken must be capable of making the corner while remaining within the limits of the track.” All of which appears reasonable but the old guidelines also included advice which meant the driver making the overtake had to be ahead from the apex onwards to earn the right of a car’s width worth of space, which in effect meant the overtake must have been made by the apex of the turn.

The 2024 guidelines have eased this requirement to “needing to be level from apex to exit” but given the new version of the guidelines has been broken up into sections it makes it difficult to understand the priority the stewards should take.

Of course if Stella is right and Max knew he had no chance of making the corner, this regulation is outdated and must be refined to take into account a defending driver being out of control.

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Why was Max not penalised?

There is a reference to this kind of behaviour in the 2024 guidelines which state: “If, while defending a position, a car leaves the track (or cuts a chicane) and rejoins in the same position, it will generally be considered by the stewards as having gained a lasting advantage and therefore, generally, the position should be given back, as prescribed in the rules.”

Well Max certainly fell foul of this ruling, but it appears the stewards believed Norris off track excursion cancelled it out, with Lando receiving a reduced five second penalty as the stewards recognised he had nowhere else to go.

The fact four decisions were required from the stewards in the 2024 USGP relating to this kind of driving offence means the guidelines are not absolutely clear and the rules for defending a corner appear to conflict with those for a driver overtaking into one.

Then of course there’s the question of who is doing the overtaking. If Norris was ahead on the straight leading into the corner, shouldn’t the stewards have ruled he in fact was the defender at the corner and Max become the overtaker?

Marko finally backs Tsunoda for next year RBR drive

 

 

 

Old Skool gravel solution

Clearly the driver standards guidelines provided to the race stewards need tidying up and further they should be published each year for fans and pundits alike to refer to.

After all the old argument would be, place a wall at the turn where the Norris/Verstappen incident took place, and what would the drivers have done?

Firstly Verstappen would have approached the corner with more caution ensuring he could complete his turn without hitting the wall. Secondly, Lando Norris would not have attempted the manoeuvre he did.

Of course on the more historic circuits this would never be an issue given the corner would have been policed by a strip of grass and a gravel trap beyond. Modern conventions are clearly not always better just because they are newer. 

Perez Snr comments on retirement

 

 

 

McLaren team order to Piastri not broadcast

Oscar Piastri may yet prove to be the steal of the century for McLaren. Two years ago the young Australian was languishing in Alpine’s junior academy with seemingly little hope of promotion until Sebastian Vettel dropped his bombshell retirement announcement and Fernando Alonso jumped at the opportunity to leave the French F1 outfit replacing the four times world champion at Aston Martin.

Of course Alpine had already missed the boat in promoting their academy driver given Piastri had signed a covert contract to join McLaren and the short legal battle which ensued ended with the French squad having egg on their collective face. Oscar has proven to be quite the find for McLaren scoring around half the points of Lando Norris his team mate during his first F1 season in 2023, a reasonable return for a rookie.

Coming into the USGP, the young Australian was the driver who had scored the most points this year since the British Grand Prix back in July and was key to McLaren’s push for their first constructors’ title since 1998. And while Oscar failed to deliver during the Sprint sessions, he returned to form in the Grand Prix coming home in fifth place, which but for a team order could have been fourth… READ MORE