MAX VERSTAPPEN ISSUES F1 RACING RULES WARNING WITH MAIN PROBLEM IDENTIFIED

As the Formula 1 drivers gear up for a new season with revised racing guidelines, Max Verstappen has warned it’s “never going to be perfect”.

Formula 1’s racing guidelines were called into question this season as Lando Norris took the fight to Verstappen on the track and in the Drivers’ standings.

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The two had three headline-grabbing clashes in Austria, Austin and Mexico, those dividing public opinion even though in all three incidents the stewards apportioned blame and dished out penalties.

Verstappen was penalised 10 seconds at the Red Bull Ring for jinking left as Norris tried to overtake him around the outside at Turn 3 and causing a collision, while Norris was given five seconds at the Circuit of The Americas for overtaking Verstappen off the track.

While that’s usually a 10-second penalty, the stewards ruled that “Car 4 had little alternative other than to leave the track because of the proximity of Car 1, which had also left the track” and thus reduced it to five seconds.

One race later Verstappen was given 10-seconds for the same infringement having also been penalised earlier for forcing Norris off the track with the stewards declaring the Briton had the apex of the corner.

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Following Mexico, the FIA agreed with the drivers to alter their guidelines on wheel-to-wheel combat with George Russell revealing that there’s “a line of regulation that says the inside driver needs to leave room to the guy on the outside from the apex to the exit. I think that’s going to be getting binned off.

“I think the overtaking rules on the outside will not be changing much and I don’t think we’ve really seen much of a problem [with that].”

Verstappen though has warned the rules will never be perfect as a driver’s perspective changes depending on the situation.

“I think it’s not that straightforward, clearly even between how many seconds that you get,” he said. “I mean sometimes they work for you, sometimes they work against you.

“I think it’s never going to be perfect because even if you remove rules, then you get into a battle, then you want more rules because it’s not clear what is allowed or not. Then when you have too many rules, you want less rules. It just keeps on going left and right all the time.

“Do I think it’s over-regulated? Probably yes. I mean, in general, the rule book is only getting bigger and bigger every single year. I don’t think that’s always the right way forward.”

Meanwhile, Oscar Piastri says he just wants consistency from the stewards.

“There probably are some tweaks that need to be made,” said the McLaren driver. “The FIA has acknowledged that and wants to work with us on that, which is very positive.

“But I think in general, we’ve got more consistency, maybe some things can still be a bit more consistent, but I think at least for the stewards, they now have a set of, they actually have a set of guidelines as to what kind of rule should be applied.

“I think we all agree that the rules may be not perfect and should be changed a bit. But at least we have something to look back to, which we didn’t have before that. So I think things can always be improved. These guidelines haven’t been around for that long in the grand scheme of things.

“Again, you can’t write rules, especially in racing, that are going to cover every single possibility and situation. So you always do need a kind of subjective steward to add their thoughts. But yes, I think we’re in a much better place than we have been. And the FIA has been very, very supportive of trying to change that with us.

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2025-01-14T15:20:40Z