Whiting brushes off radio ban safety fear allegations

FIA Formula 1 race director Charlie Whiting has refuted claims that this year's new rules regarding limited radio communications may lead to safety concerns for drivers.

In a bid to force more autonomy on drivers out on the race track, the sport's governing body further restricted the amount of communication between a driver and his team, prohibiting the latter to convey any information or detail which may aid the former in his driving or strategy.

As it dealt with Nico Rosberg's rising brake temperatures in Australia, Mercedes' Toto Wolff suggested the team's pitwall struggled to communicate the  problem while remaining within  the radio rules.

But Charlie Whiting stated that teams also had the opportunity to convey any relevant information through a driver's dash display.

"The safety critical stuff can be displayed on the dash, so they need to make sure they display the right things," he explained to Autosport.

"It's a question of managing it between the team and the driver without the need for the radio, without being told what settings to apply. They'll deal with it."

With a few provisions added to the radio rules on race day in Australia, and given the event's red-flag context, Whiting believes teams dealt relatively well with the issue.

"I feel we have hit the right balance, personally. There were a few glitches when the race was stopped.

"A lot of the fuel recalculations weren't reset, and stuff like that, so we had to fiddle about with a few of those with the teams.

"Teams had to tell the drivers to do a couple of things they wouldn't normally have been allowed to do, but that was all done in consultation, so that was fine."

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