Mark
14-12-2003, 15:29
Motorsport boss Max Mosley has revealed plans for a radical overhaul of grand prixracing’s under-fire driverpenaltysystem.
The president of motorsport governing body the FIA has told AUTOSPORT that he wants the current system replaced in time for the 2004 season.
FORMULA 1 has endured its fair share of controversies when it comes to drivers being punished for racing incidents. Although there is often little dispute over offences such as speeding in the pitlane or crossing the pitlane exit line, there is general dissatisfaction at the way punishments have been meted out for causing ‘avoidable collisions’. HOW IT IS NOW…
Under the current system, race director Charlie Whiting will recommend to the race stewards (who change from event to event) whether an incident is worthy of investigation. The stewards will analyse video footage and decide there and then whether an offence has taken place. Very often a drivethrough penalty will be imposed – without grounds for appeal.
One of the biggest drawbacks of this system is that there is no chance to interview the drivers involved and no means of looking at telemetry to apportion blame. This means that if it is subsequently found after a race that a driver was innocent of blame, it is too late to do anything about it because he will have already served his drive-through penalty.
HOW IT COULD BE IN 2004…
FIA president Max Mosley’s plans involve the introduction of a system similar to the one that governs licences for driving on public roads. In Britain, when a driver commits an offence like speeding, he is given a number of penalty points. If he exceeds a certain limit within a fixed period he will receive a ban.
In F1 such a system would allow stewards to effectively give drivers warnings – similar to yellow cards in football. Whiting and the stewards would look at controversial incidents after the races, with all the evidence available, and then decide whether an offence had been committed. These could be punished with penalties ranging from one to 11 points, depending on how serious it is. If, for example, a driver then exceeded 12 points in a season he would be automatically suspended for one race. All cases would be subject to appeal. Autosport issue 11-12-03
The president of motorsport governing body the FIA has told AUTOSPORT that he wants the current system replaced in time for the 2004 season.
FORMULA 1 has endured its fair share of controversies when it comes to drivers being punished for racing incidents. Although there is often little dispute over offences such as speeding in the pitlane or crossing the pitlane exit line, there is general dissatisfaction at the way punishments have been meted out for causing ‘avoidable collisions’. HOW IT IS NOW…
Under the current system, race director Charlie Whiting will recommend to the race stewards (who change from event to event) whether an incident is worthy of investigation. The stewards will analyse video footage and decide there and then whether an offence has taken place. Very often a drivethrough penalty will be imposed – without grounds for appeal.
One of the biggest drawbacks of this system is that there is no chance to interview the drivers involved and no means of looking at telemetry to apportion blame. This means that if it is subsequently found after a race that a driver was innocent of blame, it is too late to do anything about it because he will have already served his drive-through penalty.
HOW IT COULD BE IN 2004…
FIA president Max Mosley’s plans involve the introduction of a system similar to the one that governs licences for driving on public roads. In Britain, when a driver commits an offence like speeding, he is given a number of penalty points. If he exceeds a certain limit within a fixed period he will receive a ban.
In F1 such a system would allow stewards to effectively give drivers warnings – similar to yellow cards in football. Whiting and the stewards would look at controversial incidents after the races, with all the evidence available, and then decide whether an offence had been committed. These could be punished with penalties ranging from one to 11 points, depending on how serious it is. If, for example, a driver then exceeded 12 points in a season he would be automatically suspended for one race. All cases would be subject to appeal. Autosport issue 11-12-03