Will the FIA's changes solve the main problem with F1 battles?

While the previous Thursday Qatar GP F1 focused on more layoffs and changes from the FIA, the top body's efforts to review Formula 1's regulations have been entirely positive.

“I would say it was the best meeting we had,” said Lewis Hamilton of the meeting more than one hour duration .

Based on comment from George Russell that “just when we were asking for some transparency and consistency, they are removing two very important people from the governing body”, following the news that Formula 2 racing director Janette Tan and commissioner Tim Mayer have been fired.it seems that pilots are still outraged by the inexplicable changes.

But on the other hand, they are happy to be heard in other areas, and the results of the discussion on F1 racing rules after the maneuvers Max Verstappen against Lando Norris in Austin and Mexico are once again in the spotlight.

Now that the FIA ​​has presented its findings to drivers on the reassessment of the current 'Guidelines on Driving Standards' document – – drivers were inevitably tight-lipped about what these proposals meant for their racing tactics. This is understandable given the need to avoid signaling fighting intentions that a rival might internalize and one day use against you.

Russell's position as unique director of the F1 Drivers' Association The fact that he is currently competing means that his comments added importance to this debate, but he was also the first to address the F1 press after a meeting that ran over the scheduled time .

The pilot of Mercedes revealed that “there is a line in the regulations that says the driver who is on the inside must give space to the driver who is on the outside from the top to the exit” and added : “I think it will be eliminated and hopefully as early as this weekend.”

Regarding attacks off the line, he revealed: “I think the rules for passing outside are not going to change much and I don't think we have seen many problems.”

When asked for the specific details of the most controversial moves of F1's 2024 season – Verstappen at Turn 12 in Austin and Turn 4 in Mexico, both against Norris – neither Russell nor Hamilton revealed anything.

When asked by the driver directly involved, Max Verstappen, he deflected attention, arguing that the problem lies in the design of the track.

But the revelation so far The only proposed changes to the guidelines will be for offensive movements. of a pilot who enters inside is in itself worrying. In theory, this would prevent a driver being overtaken from the outside from continuing to struggle to the point where it looks like he went off track and deserves a penalty, when in reality the overtake was clean.

But the main problem with the current guidelines is that they leave open the possibility that a pilot in the process of advanceWhen defending inside, go long to ensure you have a leg up on your rival at the top.

Therefore, this means that its rival from the outside is not entitled to the space as the guideline says verbatim, but this creates controversial scenarios, notably those observed in the .

Comparisons to Verstappen defending similarly against Hamilton in the 2021 Brazilian GP – albeit at a much higher speed – remain, even after the guidelines were introduced in 2022 after lobbying for the drivers.

But only change the wording for a different scenario suggests that such tactics will remain technically legal, even if there are strong arguments that they go against sporting fairness. Allowing this ambiguity to remain would mean that the most controversial elements of the 2024 races could be repeated.

The other question about what was proposed is whether the change regarding attacking from inside would come into effect before the end of the 2024 season, as that was part of the reason the FIA ​​wanted to inform the Qatar pilots and no. later.

Russell's comments suggest no firm agreement was reached on Thursday.

has learned that the FIA ​​plans to publish the results of the meeting this Friday, raising hopes that a conclusion can still be reached. FIA sources also said the governing body and drivers are committed to working together to bring clarity to the guidelines and resulting refereeing decisions.

But it remains to be seen whether that involves publicly revealing the updated guidelines, as they were previously reluctant to do, to avoid outcry on social media after the clashes.

For now, drivers seem happy, but if they accept the proposed changes, it would be disingenuous to question the rules the next time an incident occurs…

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