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May 23rd
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FIA close up 'one move' defence rules

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From the start of 2012, any move to retake the racing line while fighting another car would be classed as an illegal 'second move' to defend a place, as the FIA continues to work on eliminating the battle for position from the sport.

The decision to tighten the rules likely stems from the controversial on-track battle between Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton at Monza this year.

During that protracted fight, Schumacher was accused of making two moves to defend his position on a number of occasions, but the German escaped punishment due to the grey area over whether returning to the racing line after defending a move counted as a second move.

But the FIA confirmed that the World Motor Sport Council had acted to close up that loophole in the 2012 Sporting Regulations.

A statement from the FIA confirmed that one of the changes for 2012 was that: "Drivers may no longer move back onto the racing line having moved off it to defend a position."

That rule clarification was part of a raft of minor tweaks made to the sporting rules for next season, with the WMSC also confirming a return of in-season testing via a standalone three-day test.

They also confirmed a return to the 'wavearound' safety car rule, whereby lapped cars would be allowed past a safety car queue when safe to do so in order to prevent backmarkers hindering leaders at the restart.

The wavearound rule had previously been in operation in the sport up to 2009, but was dropped after the process was deemed to take too long to complete.

"Before the safety car returns to the pits all lapped cars will be allowed to unlap themselves and then join the back of the pack," the statement confirmed.

"[This ensures] a clean re-start without slower cars impeding those racing for the leading positions."

Other changes included a maximum time limit of four hours for all races, including red flag periods, to guard against situations like this year's Canadian GP, which took over four hours to complete following a lengthy rain delay.

Furthermore, following a race being red flagged, any car that was in the pit lane when the red flag came out will now be able to retake the position they held prior to the suspension for the restart.

The WMSC also confirmed that all mandatory crash tests must now be passed before the start of pre-season testing, rather than the start of the season proper.

Another loophole to be tightened was that of drivers short-cutting their way back to the pits, with the FIA confirming that drivers cannot leave the track limits without a "justifiable reason".

This follows Sebastian Vettel cutting a chicane at the Korean GP during qualifying on his way back round to the pits following his first Q3 run.

Although some claimed the German had gained an advantage by cutting the corner, the stewards in Korea deemed that it was not penalty worthy.