This follows on from the incident at the Mexican Grand Prix last week…
Ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix, FIA’s race director Niels Wittich has reinforced regulations in the latest event notes, tackling the issue of drivers congesting the pit-lane to find space.
Amid incidents where drivers were seen creating deliberate hold-ups during qualifying sessions, Formula 1 authorities have taken strict action. The new directive from Niels Wittich, starting with the SĂŁo Paulo Grand Prix, prohibits drivers from stopping in the pit-lane’s fast-lane.
This enforcement stems from scenarios where drivers would queue up, causing potential risks with differential speeds, especially at the tail end of the pit-lane during qualifying laps. As a response to such tactics, the FIA had previously implemented a minimum lap-time requirement between two safety car lines introduced at the Italian Grand Prix.
Under this regulation, post-practice on Fridays, drivers must adhere to a predetermined lap-time minimum. If they fail to maintain this pace, penalties could ensue. So far, drivers who have been summoned by stewards for possible violations have successfully defended their cases, demonstrating they reduced speed not to hinder others but to yield to faster vehicles.
However, competitors adapted by halting in the pit-lane’s fast-lane when departing the pits, attempting to generate necessary intervals for optimal lap commencement.
Notably, during the Mexican Grand Prix, prominent drivers like George Russell, Max Verstappen, and Fernando Alonso faced inquiries over such tactics. The updated instructions from Wittich, effective from the Interlagos race onwards, aim to eliminate this practice.
FIA’s Clampdown with Updated Guidelines The newly clarified regulations strictly ban the act of halting in the pit-lane’s fast-lane, categorized as driving “unnecessarily slow” in breach of the rules.
In Wittichâs essential pre-race documentation delivered to teams, it states, “As stipulated by Article 33.4 of the Formula 1 Sporting Regulations, drivers must refrain from reducing speed unnecessarily, which encompasses coming to a stop in the pitlane’s fast lane.”
The document further instructs, “During the [Sprint] Shootout and Qualifying sessions, while drivers are permitted to form a gap after the pit exit lights and before the SC2 line, any driver wishing to do so must remain as far to the left as practicable, to enable others to overtake on the right along the pit exit road.” This new enforcement is set to shape driver behavior as the F1 season advances to its later stages.
