Formula 1 drivers face tight new restrictions preventing them from going too slowly between qualifying laps this year.
FIA race director Niels Wittich has issued updated guidance to drivers in his latest attempt to avoid potentially dangerous interactions between cars during qualifying. Several near-misses have occurred in recent seasons involving drivers at speed and others going slowly to cool their tyres or power units.
The sport’s governing body attempted to regulate this last year by requiring drivers to stay below a maximum time between the pit lane exit and entry. The new push takes that approach a step further.
From this weekend, the drivers’ pace relative to that lap time will be measured at every marshalling post around the lap. This should reduce the possibility for large speed differences between cars to occur during qualifying and pre-race reconnaissance laps.
The updated regulations state: “For the safe and orderly conduct of the event, other than in exceptional circumstances accepted as such by the stewards, to ensure that cars are not driven unnecessarily slowly on any lap during and after the end of the qualifying session (including in-laps and out-laps) or during reconnaissance laps when the pit exit is opened for the sprint or race, drivers must stay on or below the maximum time set by the FIA ECU at least once in each marshalling sector and at both the first and second safety car lines (a marshalling sector is defined as the section of track between each of the FIA light panels).
“Any driver that exceeds the maximum time set by the FIA ECU may be deemed to be going unnecessarily slowly.”
As a further safeguard against drivers at high speed catching much slower cars, the race director has also issued new instructions on behaviour at specific points around the track.
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“In the event of fast approaching cars, drivers should go off-line between turns three and four, turns 10 to 11 and turns 13 to 14 to avoid any high-speed differential between the cars on track on the racing line.”
One consequence of the rules brought in last year which the FIA hopes to prevent involves drivers purposefully slowing in the pit lane exit where there is often little room for other cars to pass. The updated regulation state they “include the pit lane as well.”
New driver guidance compared
2023 Bahrain Grand Prix notes
4) Laps during qualifying and reconnaissance laps
4.1 In order to ensure that cars are…
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