Following incidents with Alonso and Sainz in China, the FIA has revised its regulations to address identified gaps.
Formula 1 has revised its regulations following incidents involving Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz earlier this year.
Both cases occurred during the Chinese Grand Prix weekend in April. The first followed a collision between Fernando Alonso and Sainz during the sprint race.
Alonso was penalized 10 seconds for this incident. This penalty had no impact on his finishing position as he retired from the Sprint.
Drivers who incur penalties and then retire from a race are typically penalized on the grid for subsequent rounds, as happened with Esteban Ocon in Monaco this year. However, Alonso’s incident occurred during a sprint race, and F1 rules did not allow for his penalty to be adjusted in this way.
Race stewards then identified this loophole in the regulations at the time.
This issue was addressed in a Sporting Regulations update released today. A revised clause now states: “If any of the penalties is imposed on a driver, and that driver is unable to serve the penalty due to non-classification in the sprint session or race in cases a) or b) or due to retirement during the sprint or race in cases c) or d), the race stewards may impose a grid penalty on the driver at his next race.”
During the same Chinese GP, Aston Martin F1 lodged a protest following Sainz’s crash later in the day during the Grand Prix qualifying session. The session was interrupted by a red flag, but Sainz was able to return to the track.
Aston Martin F1 protested the qualification results, arguing that Sainz should not have been allowed to continue under the rule that states: “Any driver whose car stops on the track during the qualifying session or sprint qualifying session will not be allowed to participate in the next session.”
The stewards dismissed Aston Martin, and the FIA clarified the rule in question. It now states: “Any driver whose car stops in an area other than the pit lane during the qualifying session or sprint qualifying session and receives physical assistance will not be allowed to participate in the next session.”
As Sainz did not receive physical assistance when he rejoined the track, his actions would also have been legal under the revised regulations.
Finally, in another rule change, a new clause has been added defining a procedure for stopping a race when the pit lane entrance is blocked, meaning drivers cannot enter the pit lane as usual.
“In exceptional circumstances, for safety reasons, the pit lane entry may be closed before the cars have returned to the pit lane. In such circumstances, all cars must proceed slowly to the starting grid, the first car to arrive on the grid to occupy pole position and the others to occupy the other positions on the grid in the order of their arrival. The rest of the procedures detailed in Articles 57.3, 57.4, 57.5, and 58 remain unchanged but will take place on the grid rather than in the fast lane of the pits.”
- You may also like>High Hopes for Ferrari Post-Zandvoort Stretch
- Following us on>Facebook and>Twitter
FIA Closes Loopholes After China GP Alonso-Sainz Drama FIA Closes Loopholes After China GP Alonso-Sainz Drama
