Following the dismissal of Michael Masi from the position of race director, the FIA decided to make a change in the organization and place Eduardo Freitas and Niels Wittich at the helm of race direction.
Wittich will be responsible for opening the 2022 Formula 1 season in Bahrain and, from the first moment, he has had to face a very repeated problem in recent seasons: track limits.
Under Masi’s leadership, this was an issue that often received a lot of criticism from all sides. The Australian made modifications to try to adapt to each situation, instead of imposing a stricter vision as stipulated in the category regulations.
This caused a lot of controversy last year from the first race in Bahrain, where race management notes indicated that they would not be policing the track limits of Turn 4 during the race (unlike practice and qualifying), something that caused that the Mercedes drivers adopted a racing line that took them beyond the white line and the curb.
However, towards the end of the race, race management changed the rules due to a protest from Red Bull. Finally, the victory was decided by an overtaking by Max Verstappen, who had to return the position to Lewis Hamilton after exceeding the track limits in that same corner.
In his first notes, Wittich opposes this approach and simply recalls what the Sporting Regulations say: “In accordance with what is written in article 33.3, the white lines delimit the limits of the track.”
The full article 33.3 reads as follows: “Drivers must use all means to use the track at all times and may not leave the track without valid reason. Drivers will be considered to have left the track if no part of the car remains in contact with the track and, for the avoidance of doubt, any white lines defining the limits of the track are considered part of the track, but not curbs or curbs.”
“If a car goes off the track, the driver may rejoin the track, but only safely and without gaining any advantage. At the absolute discretion of the race director, a driver may be given the opportunity to return all advantage that you have obtained when leaving the track”.
However, as we learned last year, it would be important to try not to draw definitive conclusions about this procedure, as race management can change their notes and publish a new version at any time.
