F1's governing body has attempted to further clarify the rule regarding drivers defending a position, in an effort to make clear whether a move to return to the racing line after defending will be considered a 'second move'.
The FIA looked to overhaul the rules on defensive driving for 2012, after the controversy surrounding Michael Schumacher's fight with Lewis Hamilton at the 2011 Italian Grand Prix.
The fight between the drivers saw Schumacher appear to use two moves to defend his position on a number of occasions, but he was let off by stewards who saw the second move as him returning to the racing line.
In reaction to this, the FIA initially banned any move back to the racing line after moving over to defend a position from the start of 2012.
But on Wednesday, the governing body published a revised version of their sporting regulations in an effort to clarify the rules further.
The new rules will allow drivers to move "towards the racing line" after defending a position, but say that the driver must leave "at least one car width" between his car and the edge of the track.
The new and baffling change, Article 20.3 of the Sporting Regulations, reads: "More than one change of direction to defend a position is not permitted.
"Any driver moving back towards the racing line, having earlier defended his position off-line, should leave at least one car width between his own car and the edge of the track on the approach to the corner."
The revised Sporting Regulations also cleared up the new rules regarding lapped cars under a safety car.
From 2012, lapped traffic will be allowed to unlap themselves and rejoin at the back of the safety car train once the track is safe enough to do so.
And the new rules helped to sort out the precise rules, in a section that contained one of the most bizarre paragraphs ever written.
"If the clerk of the course considers it safe to do so...any cars that have been lapped by the leader will be required to pass the cars on the lead lap and the safety car," it explained.
"This will only apply to cars that were lapped at the time they crossed the Line at the end of the lap during which they crossed the first Safety Car line for the second time after the safety car was deployed."
After that staggering paragraph, the rule added: "Having overtaken the cars on the lead lap and the safety car these cars should then proceed around the track at an appropriate speed.
"[They will then] take up position at the back of the line of cars behind the safety car.
"Whilst they are overtaking, and in order to ensure this may be carried out safely, the cars on the lead lap must always stay on the racing line unless deviating from it is unavoidable."
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|





