Opinions varied among F1 drivers over the racing guidelines currently being applied in the sport following multiple incidents at last week’s United States Grand Prix.
There were numerous penalties handed out for incidents that largely took place at COTA’s Turn 12, with some penalizing the driver on the outside of the track for running off and gaining an advantage, and others the driver on the inside line for forcing another driver off-track. Lando Norris was particularly frustrated to be given a five-second time penalty for overtaking Max Verstappen, who also went wide, and maintains he was unfairly punished.
“No, I have not spoken to Max at all, because he did what I guess he thought was right, I did what I thought was right,” Norris said. “I still disagree, and I think as a team we still disagree. I think the majority of people who were watching disagreed with the penalty that I got.
“But I’ll make the changes that I need to make, whether it’s being more aggressive at times, or less aggressive, or whatever. I’ll do what I think is right.
“I think what we saw with George’s and Bottas’ version, (which) in some ways was very similar to ours. I was completely ahead of Max, I was over a car length ahead of him, so I was no longer the attacking car, he was.
“I was ahead of Max, so I wasn’t having to defend, he was the one attacking me, and effectively he’s gone in too hard and overtaken off the track, I’ve just maintained my position.
“It’s something I’m sure we’ll discuss, because it’s been the main talking point since last weekend – not just for us, but for everyone. A lot of other drivers didn’t agree with it, teams didn’t agree with it, but at the same time we’re in Mexico and I have to focus on this weekend.”
Much of the focus since COTA has been on the driving standards guidelines – a six-page document that outlines how stewards will punish decisions – and whether the fact that the inside car doesn’t need to be fully alongside at the apex to be given the high ground when attacking, while a car attacking on the outside does.
Russell was penalized for forcing Bottas off the track on the exit of Turn 12, having stayed within the limits himself, and now believes the bigger issue is with track configurations.
“At the end of the day, you need to have some sort of guideline,” Russell said. “Especially when we’re having different stewards every single week who have a slightly different interpretation.
According to Russell, an easy solution would be to remove the runoff that allows drivers to run wide in the first place. Motorsport Images
“Having looked back, I thought my penalty was harsh, but probably correct. Looking at Lando’s, I think that was probably correct as well. But Max probably also should have got a penalty for running off the track.
“For me, the root cause of the problem is having a circuit that allows you to run wide. If we take Austria last year as an example, you had 300 track limit problems. They put gravel in, and there’s no problems. If you put gravel in on that corner, Lando doesn’t go off and overtake, and Max doesn’t brake that late and go off as well. I think we need to tackle the root cause.”
Verstappen already thinks the sport has too many rules govering how drivers should race, but said he understands the need for a firm approach to try and bring clarity.
“When you have the situation like we have with the racing guidelines now, they try and specify so many things,” Verstappen said. “It is definitely over-regulated, but then I can also see the other point of, if we take rules away, and then there is again an incident it’s like, ‘No, we need more rules, we need to be stronger on this’.
“It’s always the same thing, because in the past we had maybe some lesser rules, and then you have the same argument. ‘No, we need to be stronger on this or that’. It’s always the same story.”
While Norris maintained his stance that he was unfairly punished and Russell changed his mind, Carlos Sainz said the incidents at COTA – which also including a penalty for Oscar Piastri in the Sprint – have left him more confused about what he’s allowed to do.
“I think it depends a lot on the overtake that you look at,” Sainz said. “There’s a bit of a one outcome or another of a penalty, and what is clear to me after Austin is that we need to review a few incidents, predominantly to understand when to expect a penalty and when not.
“I think if you read the rule by the book, the way the penalties are applied might be logical if you apply the rulebook, in the way that racing is, I feel like sometimes it’s a bit difficult to apply the rulebook exactly in that manner.
“I guess we just need to sit down all together, review a few incidents, have the feedback from the stewards of why they took that decision, and have a bit of a clearer picture in my head of what to expect when racing other guys.”
Sainz also backed Russell’s call for additional deterrents at tracks that will stop drivers running wide, but a supporting voice for the clarity of the current rules came from Bottas.
“It’s always been pretty clear,” Bottas said. “No drama there. It’s just that some drivers are pushing the limits of the regulations more and almost taking the piss out of it, but the rules are clear.
“I thought was going to be on the limit. I was kind of 50/50, about it. I didn’t even moan about it in the radio. In the end, they decided what they decide and it didn’t change my race anyway, so I wasn’t too fussed about it.
“When we’re rotating the stewards, they try to be consistent. They try to follow the guidelines, but it’s not always possible, because every incident or overtake and every track are different. As long as you have different stewards, you will have different opinions, that’s how it goes but I think the FIA knows that is an issue sometimes, and they’re trying to find a solution for the future.”
