The FIA publishes a directive banning touching the cars during a penalty
This Thursday, March 30th, in the evening, the FIA issued a directive after examining the incidents that occurred during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. It prohibits mechanics from touching the cars during a penalty in the pit lane.
Following a review of the incidents concerning improper grid placements during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, the FIA has issued a directive with several recommendations to prevent a recurrence of grid placement incidents like the one involving Fernando Alonso in Jeddah.
The FIA directive follows the conclusions of the review regarding the penalties received by the Spaniard during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and the subsequent decisions made by the stewards. In its statement, the FIA specifies that the confusion surrounding the penalty of the two-time world champion received at the finish line is due to a lack of clarity in the wording of the regulations, which were revealed by this specific incident.
As a reminder, one of the mechanics had touched the Aston Martin with his hoist, which resulted in a post-race penalty. However, it was ultimately cancelled.
Following this, the FIA review committee has implemented two main measures:
– A clarification of article 54.4 paragraph C of the FIA sporting regulations regarding work on the car during serving a penalty, and how the regulation will be enforced. From now on, no mechanic will be allowed to touch a race car while the driver is carrying out their penalty.
– An enlargement of the starting grids by 20 centimeters and the addition of a central line to avoid any improper placement.
Other points are currently being discussed with the teams. They relate this time to a modification of the regulations or a sports directive to avoid similar problems in the future, as well as the examination of various procedures that cause delays in the event of late reports to the commissioners.
