Yesterday, in Qatar, the first meeting between the FIA and the GPDA took place regarding the guidelines for on-track duels.
Something is changing in F1, and not just from a managerial perspective. Yesterday, in Losail, the first meeting between the FIA and the GPDA took place to discuss the new guidelines on how to behave during on-track duels. It was a peaceful dialogue in which both parties had the chance to voice their opinions
The outcome is that there will be some changes, as confirmed by George Russell, a representative of the GPDA. These are the words of the British driver after the meeting that took place on Thursday: ‘Many drivers are aligned on the fact that, if you are the car overtaking on the inside, the number one rule is that you must be able to stay on the track. If you are able to stay on the track, you have the right to push the other driver wide, as it has always been for all of us since karting days: if you’re overtaking someone on the inside, you have the right to push them wide.’
Russell then added: ‘I think the rules for overtaking on the outside won’t change much, and I don’t think we’ve encountered many problems. From my personal point of view, in general, I think it’s worked well this year, it’s just that the issues that arose in Austin highlighted the problem, but in the end, they were related to the same issue, which is that the track allows you to do it because there’s no gravel.’
The meeting in Qatar was positive for both sides, which could now come closer after the tensions of recent weeks. This is what Russell had to say: ‘It was a fairly productive meeting. I think we all agree that the guidelines don’t need substantial changes. I think they just need some phrases to be removed or modified. But I think it’s clear to everyone that what happened in Austin should have been penalized, while what happened in Mexico was rightly penalized.’
And finally, his closing remark: ‘In general, over the course of the year, I think the decisions made by the stewards have been pretty good. Probably, Austin was just an exceptional case. So, yes, only small adjustments are needed. There wasn’t necessarily anything in the guidelines regarding Max’s move: if you divebomb and go off track, you’re actually out of control. So, everyone agrees that these things need to be changed.’
Photo: X Mercedes AMG F1 Team