FIA simplify F1 steward’s decision making regarding track limits

The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, home to the Mexico City Grand Prix, was designed by Óscar Fernández for his thesis in 1953. This was in an era when motorsport was in its adolescence with the single-seater racing cars having no aerodynamics and engines in the front of the car.

The chassis were built from a steel tubular space frame, the gearboxes were H-style manual affairs, and the drivers wore cloth caps or at best open-face helmets with goggles, and there were no seatbelts.

The technology was purely mechanical, with no telemetry or computers involved—because they were yet to be invented.The drivers managed with large steering wheels and overheating brake drums, and with virtually no downforce added, the grip was generated in a mechanical fashion.

The Heritage Design Versus Modern Power

This was the era in which the Autódromo was conceived, where small nimble cars could race side by side and follow each other closely without the dreaded ‘dirty air.’ With the modern F1 behemoths, the circuit takes on a completely different character, most notably difficult for overtaking.

The modern F1 cars cannot go four-wide into turn one after lights out as they did back in the 50s, and last year’s Mexico City Grand Prix was to prove this after a chaotic start. Lando Norris had claimed pole position, but his getaway was compromised.

The result was Max Verstappen, Norris, and the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton four-wide going into the first corner. Both Leclerc and Verstappen were forced to take to the grass, with the Monegasque driver taking the early lead. However, he ceded the place to Lando Norris having been advised he may be guilty of ‘leaving the track and gaining an advantage.’

Driver Frustrations and Circuit Limitations

In fact, almost a quarter of the grid left the track during the opening sequence of corners, which are narrow and twisty.George Russell was left fuming after starting P5 as to how three of the four drivers ahead of him simply made up their own track rather than stick to the asphalt.

“I just struggle to understand how three guys can just cut the corner and maintain their position. They got it wrong, they braked too late, they made a mistake. But then they can just cut the corner and continue, and there was no punishment for their mistake,” reflected the Mercedes driver after the chequered flag.

The start of the 2025 Mexico City Grand Prix triggered a number of conversations on social media as to how the design of heritage motorsport circuits does not suit modern F1 cars. Looking at the design of tracks like Shanghai and Malaysia,they accommodate the bigger cars hurtling into turn one by having a much wider footprint. Further, the subsequent corners are not fiddly like they are in Mexico.

The FIA Stewards Step In

A redesign of turn one, more along the lines of Sepang, would definitely improve racing across the opening laps at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Clearly, these conversations have yet to take place with the circuit owners; however, in an attempt to prevent the carnage and complaints reoccurring, the FIA stewards have intervened ahead of today’s Grand Prix.

A statement was issued late on Saturday over how the stewards will treat driving standards:

“On lap one and the first lap after any resumption [after a safety car or red flag], in Turns 1 to 3, and Turns 4 to 6, all cars will, by default, be considered as both attacking and defending.

“Thus, in line with existing guidelines, any car leaving the track in these areas and maintaining a position to a car or cars within close proximity behind (as determined by the stewards) may be considered as gaining a lasting advantage, unless such position is yielded by Turn 4 [in the case of a car leaving the track in the area of Turns 1 to 3], or by Turn 12 [in the case of a car leaving the track in the area of Turns 4 to 6.]”

Reassessing Penalties and Interpretations

With each passing year, the FIA attempts to codify its driving standards ever more tightly, which has led to different interpretations of who leaves the track and when. Were they left no room, or were they not entitled to any given they were attacking from behind—are questions repeatedly asked of the stewards.

Then, of course, there is the overarching regulation which exempts certain transgressions as a ‘lap one incident.’ Clearly,this statement from the FIA precludes all driving standards guidelines with the simple premise that if a driver leaves the circuit but merely retains their position, which may have been taken by a driver behind, they will be punished.

The FIA diktat will not prevent the turn one chaos, but merely give the stewards carte blanche to avoid the usual deliberations as to whether a front axle was alongside another car’s mirror, etc. Now it will be the stewards who decide whether a car was close enough to another to be impacted by them leaving the circuit.

A Simpler Approach to Stewarding

In effect, it means a driver can be penalized not just for leaving the circuit and gaining a place, but for retaining a position by abusing track limits. This is a perfectly reasonable proposition and hands the stewards a greater subjectivity allowance for their deliberations.

Then again—hang on… Why isn’t this just the regular fashion in which the stewards deliberate such incidents, rather than shroud themselves in a tome of guidelines which debate who arrived at the apex of a corner first—when everyone knows there is more than one apex to every turn, depending on the line the driver takes?

It’s usually fairly obvious to all those watching when a grave injustice due to abuse of track limits has taken place. Why not allow the stewards the freedom to make such a judgment, without having to get out their geometry kits and start measuring distances and closing speeds?

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