The incidents in Austin and Mexico involving Max Verstappen and Lando Norris have reopened the topic of the FIA’s guidelines on duels, creating some tension. For this reason, the governing body and the GPDA decided to meet in Qatar to revisit the engagement rules and find a common ground on the regulations used by race stewards to make their decisions.
The commission aimed to modify the rules as quickly as possible to gather feedback from the drivers before the end of the 2024 season and test them during races ahead of the next championship. The meeting with the drivers took place on Thursday at 7:30 PM Qatar time and lasted about an hour, moved earlier than the usual post-FP2 slot due to the sprint format.
The meeting addressed various scenarios and potential improvements to the rules, especially because the drivers want clear indications on what will be allowed during a race duel. Speaking at the press conference ahead of the Qatar GP, George Russell, the GPDA representative, explained that the discussion during the meeting mainly revolved around overtaking and what a driver on the inside line can do.
The driver on the inside can push the one on the outside wide
“Many drivers agree that if you are the car overtaking on the inside, the number one rule is that you must be able to stay on the track. If you can stay on the track, you have the right to push the other driver wide, as has been the case for all of us since karting: if you are overtaking someone on the inside, you have the right to push them wide,” explained the Mercedes driver, effectively responding to what happened in Austin between Verstappen and Norris, the incident that reignited the debate.
As a result, another rule should also change. According to George Russell, there is currently a regulation stating that the driver on the inside must leave space for the driver on the outside from the apex of the corner to the exit.
However, the British driver explained that this rule should be removed. Additionally, he hopes this will be implemented as early as this weekend’s GP: “I think it will be removed, and I hope this happens starting with this weekend’s GP.”
This does not mean that a driver on the outside can no longer attempt an overtake. On the contrary, the rules in this regard should not change much from the current situation: “I think the rules for overtaking on the outside won’t change much, and I don’t think we’ve encountered many issues. From my personal point of view, in general, this year, I think it has worked well; it’s just that the problems that emerged in Austin highlighted the issue, but in the end, it came down to the same fact, namely that the circuit allows it because there is no gravel.”
A productive meeting, but there’s more to be done
The positive aspect is that the meeting with all the drivers and the FIA in Qatar was deemed positive by the drivers, who agreed that the current regulations do not require substantial changes but rather adjustments to some critical points.
“It was a rather productive meeting. I think we all agree that the guidelines don’t need substantial changes. I think they just need some phrases removed or modified. But I think it’s clear to everyone that what happened in Austin should have been a penalty, while what happened in Mexico [where Verstappen was penalized twice for his successive moves against Norris] was rightly penalized.”
“In general, over the course of the year, I think the decisions made by the stewards have been quite good. Probably, Austin was just an outlier. So yes, only small adjustments are needed,” added Russell, before explaining that there will also be interventions for maneuvers like those in Austin that sparked controversy. “There wasn’t necessarily anything in the guidelines regarding Max’s maneuver: If you divebomb and go off the track, you’re effectively out of control. So, everyone agrees to change these things.”
“This is probably the first time we’ve had this kind of meeting,” added Lewis Hamilton, who expressed satisfaction with the discussion. “At least in a while, things have changed, but I’d say this is the best meeting we’ve had. It’s very complex because there are so many different corners and scenarios. Their job is not easy at all.”
There are still many issues to address and discuss. For example, Hamilton revealed that there was talk about introducing a sort of warning, like a yellow card, for drivers who violate the guidelines, similar to other races. However, the seven-time world champion explained that the drivers agreed this is not a solution, as such a warning could be “used” in the final race of the season, effectively avoiding a penalty.
Circuit modifications are needed
One point repeatedly raised by the drivers is that, in reality, circuit modifications are also needed. For example, if there had been gravel in Austin, there probably would have been fewer attempts to overtake on the outside, as there would have been a risk of losing significant time, which does not happen with asphalt run-offs extending beyond the white line.
This was reiterated by the drivers during the meeting, emphasizing the need to modify tracks to reduce controversies: “We also concluded that most of these problems are due to the circuits. We talked about a series of problems in Austin. I think many overtakes wouldn’t even have been attempted if there had been gravel, like in Austria at Turn 4, the downhill right-hand corner. If you go 1-2% over the limit, you end up in the gravel,” said Russell, suggesting that the number of attempts at the outside of Turn 4 in Austria is relatively low because of the gravel’s risk.
“At Silverstone, at Stowe, there was a great battle a couple of years ago with Lewis [Hamilton], Checo [Perez], and Charles [Leclerc]. In the end, everyone went off the track, but that’s because the track allowed it. The circuits are the main cause, and the guidelines are a sort of temporary solution that we must agree on until we can properly fix all the tracks.”
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