Ferrari’s Elkann wants better defined F1 rules from FIA

Ferrari chairman John Elkann is advocating for the FIA to provide clearer and better-defined regulations in certain areas of Formula 1.

Ferrari suffered a significant prejudice last weekend in Las Vegas through no fault of its own in the wake of last Thursday’s drama in FP1, when Carlos Sainz hit a loose water valve cover out on the track, an incident that destroyed the chassis, power unit and energy store of the Spaniard’s SF-23.

However, adding insult to injury, Sainz was hit with a 10-place grid penalty as a consequence of Ferrari replacing the damaged components.

While the FIA stewards sympathized with the Italian outfit’s predicament, they admitted that there was no provision in F1’s sporting regulations that allowed them to waive the penalty in a case of force majeure.

This did not go down well with Scuderia team boss Fred Vasseur, nor with Elkann who seized upon the opportunity to call out the FIA on the lack of clarity of the rules.

• Read also: Ferrari to discuss Sainz damage compensation ‘in private’ with F1

"On one side, there are a lot of changes in how the evolution of technologies happen, the importance of being carbon-neutral," Elkann told BBC Sport. "Within that, being able to define clarity on rules and applications is important.

"You don't want things to happen like the 2021 championship, how that ended up [with race director Michaele Masi overruling existing Safety Car guidelines in Abu Dhabi].

“You don't want to have situations like the ones here in Vegas, where you get penalised 10 places.

"So from the regulatory standpoint in terms of rules and applications and what we have seen with the budget caps, those are areas where you'd like to have more clarity."

Addressing Red Bull’s banner season and domination, Elkann praised the Milton Keynes-based outfit for doing a better job than its rivals. But admitted that it would not be good for the sport if the latter are unable to catch up with the bulls.

“If they dominate, it means they are really good and that's positive because the sport aspires to really push to get the best and that's what we thrive on and aspire to,” said the Stellantis chairman.

“If there is no-one able to catch up, that's not good.

“A lot of different positions could come out of [the final race in] Abu Dhabi and that's good and fun. The more competitive it is, no doubt the better it is".

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