The FIA has intervened to put an end to taunting Safety Car restart tactics such as those displayed by Max Verstappen in the recent Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
In Jeddah, as the field led by Charles Leclerc prepared for the race's restart, Verstappen repeatedly drew alongside the Ferrari driver and then rolled back, a maneuver the Red Bull also used against Leclerc in Bahrain earlier this year and last season in Abu Dhabi with Lewis Hamilton.
In an updated note published ahead of this weekend's Australian Grand Prix, FIA race director Niels Wittich reminded competitors of Article 55.14 of the F1 sporting regulations.
"In order to avoid the likelihood of accidents before the safety car returns to the pits, from the point at which the lights on the car are turned out drivers must proceed at a pace which involves no erratic acceleration or braking nor any manoeuvre which is likely to endanger other drivers or impede the restart."
To facilitate the understanding of the rule, the event note was accompanied by a diagram showing the unacceptable and adequate positioning of a car relative to the one preceding it ahead of a Safety Car restart.
In short, the trailing driver must remain clearly behind the car in front, and is therefore not allowed to move up alongside or draw level.
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
Fresh from pre-season testing and with a world title now stitched onto his racing overalls,…
On this day in 1979, Jacques Laffite won the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos as…
George Russell is not hiding his appetite for a showdown this season in F1. In…
Williams may have missed the first public glimpse of Formula 1’s bold new era, but…
Mercedes technical director James Allison arrived in Barcelona last week bracing for chaos – and…
Max Verstappen has made one thing crystal clear about life after Formula 1: don’t expect…