The FIA clarifies the rules on safety car restarts and the pit lane exit line
The FIA has issued a document to clarify the rules regarding crossing white lines at the entry and exit of pit lanes, as well as a reminder regarding restarts after safety car periods.
As usual, the FIA published a document this morning to clarify some information and remind about common procedures. This document includes two rule clarifications that are quite important following the Monaco Grand Prix. As a reminder, Ferrari filed a complaint against Red Bull’s race direction for crossing the white line at the exit of the pit lane by Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez. The Perez case was resolved more quickly than the Verstappen case, as there was some ambiguity in the rule.
Regarding the white lines of the pit lane.
As a reminder, Article 5 of Chapter 4 of Appendix L of the International Sporting Code states that: « Except in cases of force majeure, any painted line on the track at the exit of the pit lane, intended to separate the cars leaving the pit lane from the cars on the track, must not be crossed by any part of a car leaving the pit lane ». The officials emphasized the term “crossed,” stating that no part of the entire car had crossed the line.
In its latest document for the Baku GP, the FIA reminds that the entry and exit procedures for the pit lane must comply with articles 4 and 5 of the mentioned chapter. From now on, it will be necessary for the entire wheel to have crossed the white line for the driver to risk a penalty. This can be reminiscent of the Monaco Grand Prix, but also of the Jeddah Grand Prix, where Verstappen complained that Charles Leclerc was driving on the white line at the pit entry.
For the restart under safety car.
In addition to the reminder about the white lines, the FIA has issued a recall regarding the restart of the race when the safety car enters the pit lane, in order to prevent a serious accident.
To reduce the risk of an accident before the safety car enters the pits, from the moment the car’s lights are turned off, drivers must maintain a pace without any sporadic acceleration, braking, or maneuvers that could endanger other drivers or disrupt the restart.
These two rules will be applied from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, and any violation of them will result in an investigation by the sports commissioners.
