Formula 1’s driving guidelines will be reviewed following the uproar over the clash between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris in Austin two weeks ago. A change is expected before the end of the season.
Several drivers raised concerns over the stewards’ decision not to penalise Verstappen for leaving the track as he defended his position from Norris at turn 12 on lap 52. The stewards gave Norris a five-second time penalty as he also left the track while gaining a position from Verstappen.
However, as Norris and several of his rivals pointed out, the Red Bull driver was able to keep his position by deliberately braking so late he strayed beyond the track’s limits. By doing so, Verstappen took advantage of the racing guideline which states a driver overtaking on the outside does not have the right to the corner if the driver on the inside reaches the apex before them.
Verstappen attempted the same in Mexico last week when Norris went around the outside of him at turn four. This time, however, Norris reached the apex ahead, and even though Verstappen forced him off again, Norris was allowed to keep the position.
The Austin case remains a point of concern among drivers who believe the rules should be amended to prevent drivers from being able to defend their position on the inside of a corner and taking their rival with them. “In Austin, I don’t think anyone should have got a penalty,” said Norris. “We both kind of did things wrong.”
“I feel like I was made to do something wrong,” he explained. “The majority of drivers feel like that was the same thing. That’s why you’ve heard of some of the rule changes that might be coming and those types of things. It’s because there’s a common consensus that it wasn’t correct, what happened in the result that I had last weekend.”
Verstappen has practised the same tactics on a championship rival before: Lewis Hamilton pointed out the same happened at the scene of this weekend’s race during their 2021 title fight, when the Red Bull driver also avoided a penalty.
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Then as now, other drivers questioned why a move they thought illegal had been permitted. The drivers’ expectation that this seldom-seen type of defence might attract a penalty is partly a consequence of similar moves being penalised in the past. Such moves were once punished under a regulation which disappeared from the rule book at the beginning of 2017.
One notable example with clear similarities to the two Verstappen cases occured at the 2014 Italian Grand Prix, involving Kevin Magnussen and Valtteri Bottas, who were then driving for McLaren and Williams respectively. Magnussen was found at fault and given a five-second time penalty.
No two racing incidents are ever identical, especially when they involve different corners, but the key facts of the three cases are close enough for comparison to be worthwhile. Magnussen defended the inside of a corner, Bottas moved clearly ahead of him on the outside approaching the turn, Magnussen braked so late he drew ahead at the apex, and in doing so forced Bottas off on the outside. The only significant difference between this and what happened between Verstappen and Norris in Austin was that Magnussen stayed within the boundaries of the track.
Even so, Magnussen was penalised. He was given a five-second time penalty for breaking article 38.1 (f) of the sporting regulations which stated drivers must not “illegitimately prevent a legitimate overtaking manoeuvre by a driver.” That clause was removed in 2017, as was a similar one which stated drivers should not “illegitimately impede another driver during overtaking.”
But it doesn’t necessarily follow that reinstating this rule would be an easy solution for those looking to outlaw Verstappen’s ‘divebomb defence’. F1’s entire philosophy of policing incidents changed as a result of the controversies of 2021.
Today’s driving guidelines include tight descriptions of when an overtaking move is considered legitimate and when it isn’t. They are more specific than the former broad statement that “illegitimate” defences were not allowed.
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The old rule relied upon stewards recognising established precedents for how particular infringements were dealt with. But this wasn’t always effective. In practice, enforcement was subject to changes in the prevailing mood of the day, especially when a championship was at stake. The enforcement of the rules deteriorated to such an extent that, late in 2021, baffled drivers were told to expect penalties to vary depending on which stewards were present.
A return to the previous regulation therefore appears unlikely. It was designed for a time when the rules were written more broadly, then interpreted by the stewards. Interpretations and precedents remain a feature of the current regulations, and inconsistencies in how the rules are enforced still occur, but the stewards at least have some specific definitions of what is and is not ‘legitimate’ to base their decisions upon.
But however the FIA chooses to revise its driving guidelines, there is one obvious improvement they could make: Publish them, as they do most of F1’s rules, so those who follow the sport can understand what constitutes legal racing. Because whatever rules the FIA writes, drivers are always going to test them to the limit.
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