Regulations: End of restrictions on radio communications at Hockenheim
The FIA met yesterday in Geneva with members of the strategy group to discuss the regulations and, above all, their application on the track. Last weekend's events, namely Rosberg's pole position obtained under double yellow flags and Button's penalty for having communicated with his team following his braking system failure, caused a lot of ink to flow, and the organization had to react.
At the media microphones at the end of the race at the Hungaroring and yesterday in the paddock at the Hockenheimring, as well as during the post-race press conference in Hungary, the drivers commented on the reported incidents and expressed their opinions, particularly on the radio restrictions implemented to keep the driver alone at the wheel of their single-seater, without “technical” assistance from their engineers.
Yesterday, the FIA’s strategic group made a decision, the interpretation of Article 27.1 of the regulations has been revised and now:
« Except for the period between the start of the formation lap and the start of the race, there will be no limits on the messages teams send to their drivers, either by radio or by pit board. » announced the FIA.
The #F1 Strategy Group met to discuss a number of issues regarding the #FIA #F1 Championshiphttps://t.co/jTOb3ZPTKQ pic.twitter.com/ONuroqzcWR
— FIA (@fia) 28 juillet 2016
For several Grand Prix events, drivers and teams had already been expressing their annoyance about this regulation, and it was ultimately an issue affecting the physical integrity of a driver, Jenson Button, that motivated the FIA to abandon this restriction that weighed on the entire field during the race.
Furthermore, the FIA announced that it would not be introducing the Halo in 2017, and that its implementation would be considered for the 2018 season.
