The new pit exit rule makes the actors grimace

The FIA has introduced a new rule at the Brazilian Grand Prix. The Federation has decided to impose a maximum lap time for incoming and outgoing laps. This regulation aims to prevent significant speed disparities between drivers and enhance safety. The new rule was introduced one week after a situation involving Verstappen, Russe, and Alonso. The three drivers had allowed a significant gap to form as they exited the pits at a low speed. There was no legislation regarding this matter, and they were exempt from penalties.

The F1 Race Director, Niels Wittich, has sent a note prior to the Grand Prix to the teams. According to Article 33.4 of the Formula 1 Sporting Regulations, drivers are not authorized to unnecessarily drive slowly, which includes stopping a car on the fast lane of the pit lane. During the incoming and outgoing laps, drivers can create a gap between the pit exit lights and the second line of the safety car. Any driver who wishes to do so should drive as far to the left as possible to allow other drivers to overtake them on the right side of the pit exit road.

The problem simply moved outside the pitlane

This restriction has complicated overtaking for the drivers. The constraint of the pit exit on the back straight has caused several cars to run onto the grass in order to make overtakes. “It was absolutely terrible,” said Verstappen. “On this track, you have a fairly long pit exit and there are some walls. But on other tracks, if we apply this, you would be driving very slowly on a straight line where people overtake at speeds over 300 km/h. And you might be driving at 15, 20 km/h to make a gap, which is extremely dangerous. For me, it doesn’t work at all. It just creates even more problems. Look at what was happening during qualifying. People were going onto the grass, including myself, to try and overtake the cars. It’s just a mess every qualifying session.”

Lando Norris was also affected by this rule. The driver explained that he was not very enthusiastic about this novelty either. « I received a reprimand this morning for two cars in front of me that were coming out of the pits, or one that crossed the safety car line, and one that was coming out of the pits at the same time », lamented the English driver. « I can’t overtake, otherwise I will do a qualifying lap, which is stupid. So I have to back off, and therefore I am below the minimum time, and I receive a reprimand for that. It’s just a stupid thing, not that the race officials made the wrong decision, it’s just a rule that should not be applied, in my opinion, because I haven’t done anything wrong. I haven’t blocked anyone, I haven’t hindered anyone. I simply didn’t overtake or provoke a race during qualifying, and I received a reprimand for that. »

Fixing the problem at its source

The rule is not highly appreciated, even among team principals. Christian Horner believes that simply restricting pit lane exits is not the right solution. The Red Bull team principal believes that the focus should be on support and a more thorough study.

« There is a rule to exit the garage, drive in the pit lane, and exit the pit lane, explains the British. « We need to go back to the basics: why do drivers have to do these outlaps and so on? The issue with slow outlaps concerns drivers trying to get their tires in the right operating window for qualifying laps. Is it the tire pressure? The tire temperature? We need to get to the root of the problem, as this is something that hasn’t existed in F1 for 50 years. I believe for me, it’s about tackling the underlying cause rather than just the surface. »

The F1 has the opportunity to revise this new rule at any time.