Many of the spectators were somewhat taken aback during the British GP when they saw some fairly aggressive attacking and defending moves go unpunished, especially at times when the drivers seemed to have been kicked off the track.
There were several instances throughout the afternoon where drivers positioned themselves on the outside of their rivals but found themselves running out of space on the exit of the corner.
Max Verstappen forced Mick Schumacher wide at the start of Brooklands, when the German tried to overtake the Red Bull driver on the outside in their battle towards the end of the race.
The circumstances were almost identical to those of the first lap of the restart after the initial red flag, when Charles Leclerc tried to make a similar overtake on Verstappen and found himself without space, so he had to lift his foot.
A few laps before the incident between Verstappen and Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton had been worse off, going wide when Sergio Pérez launched himself on the inside at Village and claimed the full width of the track at the exit of the corner in his fight for second position
At the same corner, on the first lap of the original start, moments before the red flag was waved, Hamilton had done the same thing to Charles Leclerc, forcing the Ferrari driver over the curbs to avoid a collision.
All of these incidents were enough to spark debate and, barring the incident between Hamilton and Leclerc (probably due to the red flag), the rest were ‘taken down’ by the stewards for analysis, before deciding that no further action was necessary.
The permissiveness shown by the stewards has caused great intrigue, especially since it has long been accepted that in fights for track position you have to leave room for your rivals.
In fact, the FIA’s own International Sporting Code establishes the following: “Maneuvers that could hinder other drivers, such as deliberately pushing a car beyond the edge of the track or any other abnormal change of direction, are strictly prohibited.” .
“Pushing or other contact that results in a lasting advantage is strictly prohibited. Any driver found guilty of any of the above offenses will be reported to the stewards.”
However, the sporting code has never been enough to cover all the circumstances of F1 on its own, and earlier this year one of F1’s race directors, Niels Wittich , provided some clarity on that to F1 racers. teams and drivers on what is and is not allowed.
And the key factor in judging the hits and misses of which cars are entitled to a corner was clearly defined in a “driving rules guidelines” document sent to the teams.
Although the definitions are “non-binding”, they are the ones that the stewards take into account when deciding whether an incident is worthy of a sanction or not.
Crucial to each of the controversial moves at the British GP is to understand the point at which the overtaking car has earned the right to be given the track, so it can no longer be kicked off the line.
And while there has been this general view for a long time that it only takes a “significant part” of your car to be next to the rival car for them to give you the track, in reality things are defined much more specifically. .
The Schumacher/Verstappen, Leclerc/Hamilton and Leclerc/Verstappen moments, of a driver overtaking on the outside, essentially require the attacker to be ahead of his rival after the apex of the corner.
The document states: “In considering what is a ‘significant part’, for an overtaking on the outside of a corner, among the various factors that will be judged by the stewards in exercising their discretion, the stewards will consider whether the overtaking car is ahead of the other car from the apex of the corner. The car being overtaken must be able to take the corner while staying within track limits.”
In all three cases, the attacking driver from the outside could have a good part of his car next to the other, but at no time are they ahead from the apex of the corner.
So as long as the defending driver stayed within track confines at the corner exit (which was the case in all cases), his actions were fully compliant.
As for the Pérez/Hamilton moment, in which Red Bull pushed the Mercedes after going inside, the demands are slightly different.
For a car overtaking on the inside, the interpretation of “significant part” is based on “whether the overtaking car’s front tires are alongside the other car at the apex of the corner at the latest”.
And that’s exactly what Perez had done with his late braking move, to take the spot away from Hamilton by the time they were at the apex.
So as long as the maneuver was completed in a “safe and controlled manner”, and Pérez stayed within the limits of the track at all times, the tarmac was his from the apex.
It may seem that these racing rules encourage drivers to be a little more ruthless with their rivals coming out of corners than they could have been in the past, but for now that is the way both the FIA and the drivers of F1 are happy to accept.
As Verstappen said of his fight with Mick Schumacher: “It was good, [it was] a tough but fair battle, I think.”
