Formula 1 drivers have warned the rules and regulations over wheel-to-wheel racing in Formula 1 have become too complex
The question of how far drivers should be allowed to go when attacking and defending positions became a major talking point again after Lando Norris and Max Verstappen clashed while battling for the win in the Austrian Grand Prix last weekend.
Norris accused Verstappen of “moving under braking” multiple times over the radio during his late fight for the lead with the world champion before the pair made side-by-side contact approaching turn three, which resulted in both cars receiving damage and punctured tyres. Verstappen was later handed a ten-second time penalty by the stewards for causing a collision with Norris.
The incident sparked a furore of discussion, with opinions between several former F1 drivers split between those who felt the incident was worthy of a penalty and those who did not. Asked by RaceFans whether he was clear on what the rules of racing are heading into this weekend’s British Grand Prix, Lance Stroll admitted he find the current rules too complicated.
“It’s become very complex, already, over the years,” Stroll said. “When I came in [in 2017], it was pretty simple. It was ‘if there’s a portion of the car next to you, inside or outside, you have to leave a car’s width of space on the track’.
“Now, it’s become rocket science in terms of ‘where the front wing needs to be positioned next to the mirror’ and ‘if you’re on the outside, you’re entitled space – only if your front wing’s ahead of his front wing’.
“So it’s become, I think, extremely complex – but Formula 1’s good at making things complex, I guess. I think if there’s a piece of the car, a portion of the car, that’s right or left of you, you have to leave space. That keeps it simple, that keeps the racing clean and fair – that’s my perspective on it.”
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Formula 1 introduced new guidelines on racing rules after a series of controversies during the 2021 season, when Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton clashed several times while fighting for the title.
Stroll believes the current guidelines about the rules of overtaking and defending have started to become increasingly more difficult in recent years.
“I think it was something that was simplified and then now it’s drifted or changed,” he explained. “I haven’t really been looking what everyone’s…
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