Mercedes F1 drivers praise FIA progress on racing guidelines

Mercedes drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton have expressed optimism about the progress made in discussions with the FIA regarding Formula 1’s racing rules and guidelines.

The drivers’ meeting with representatives of the governing body, held ahead of this weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix, marked an important step in clarifying contentious issues that have arisen during wheel-to-wheel racing incidents this season.

The talks were prompted by incidents during the United States and Mexico City Grands Prix, where inconsistent rulings on penalties sparked criticism from drivers and teams.

Notably, Max Verstappen’s duel with Lando Norris in Austin drew attention when only Norris was penalized despite both drivers running off the track. A week later in Mexico, Verstappen received two separate penalties for similar maneuvers against Norris.

Russell, in his capacity as a GPDA (Grand Prix Drivers’ Association) director, said the meeting yielded productive discussions, with the drivers and FIA aligned on key principles while identifying areas needing minor adjustments.

• Read also: Formula 1 drivers demand clarity on FIA’s recent shakeups

“I mean to be honest it was pretty productive,” said Russell. “I think we all agree the guidelines, they don’t need massive changes. I think we just need the odd sentence removed or adjusted.

“Everybody is clear with what happened in Austin, what should have been a penalty. What happened in Mexico was rightly penalised. And generally speaking over the course of the year I think the decisions have been pretty good.

“It was just probably Austin that was the outlier.”

The primary focus of the discussion was overtaking, particularly the rules governing how drivers approach wheel-to-wheel battles when positioned on the inside of a corner.

“I think a lot of drivers are aligned that if you are the overtaking car on the inside, rule number one is you have to be able to stay on the circuit,” Russell explained.

“If you’re able to stay on the circuit, you are in your right to run the driver wide, as it has been for all of us since go-karts.”

However, Russell also pointed out that some of the issues are linked to circuit design, noting that track layouts often encourage aggressive overtaking attempts that lead to contentious situations.

“We also concluded that most of these issues are down to the circuits,” he said. “We spoke about a number of issues in Austin. I think a lot of the overtakes wouldn’t have even been attempted had there been gravel there.”

Lewis Hamilton echoed his teammate’s sentiments, praising the FIA for engaging with drivers in a meaningful way. He noted that such open dialogues, which have been rare, are crucial to refining rules for greater clarity and fairness.

“What’s great is just acknowledging the FIA and the stewards taking the time to sit down with us and let you go through it,” said Hamilton.

“That’s the first time we’ve actually probably had that meeting in a while at least. You know, things have changed, but that’s the best meeting I would say we have.”

Hamilton emphasized the complexity of the stewards’ job, given the diversity of track layouts and racing scenarios, but believes the discussions are steering F1 in the right direction.

“It’s very complex because there’s so many different, all these different corners, so many different scenarios. They don’t have an easy job at all.

“I think it helps us all sitting with them, having a discussion of what, because in their minds, this year it’s been, or it has been better in terms of consistency, but obviously everyone wants it to be perfect.

“But until you have those discussions for them to fully understand what, from our race, from where we’re sitting, from where we’re fighting, what we’re fighting for and what we think is right or wrong in certain scenarios, it’s good for them to hear and for us to work on real clear guidelines.

“So that also from the car, you know exactly what you have.

“We’re just working away at it together. I think just from that meeting, we’re definitely moving in the right direction.”

With drivers applauding the productive nature of the discussions, the meeting signals a promising step forward in aligning drivers and officials on racing guidelines.

As the 2024 season draws to a close, such efforts may lead to more consistent rulings in the future, ensuring fairer and clearer outcomes in wheel-to-wheel battles.

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