The FIA’s Charlie Whiting has ruled that Formula 1 stewards can continue to use their own discretion when ruling over gains made if a driver goes off-track.
Whiting met with all the drivers on Friday when the topic of Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso in Bahrain was raised.
Rosberg was cleared of any wrongdoing when he forced both drivers to run wide and leave the track boundaries, but Hamilton’s overtake with all four wheels over the white line was called into question.
Two drivers in particular, Michael Schumacher Felipe Massa, called for a zero-tolerance approach to any driver making gains when not within the track boundaries, but other drivers argued handing out the same penalty for a minor gain, compared to a significant gain such as gaining a place, wasn’t the way to approach the situation.
Whiting approached the stewards on Saturday morning and came to the decision that they can continue to use their discretion when it comes to off-track antics. He agreed that a blanket, zero-tolerance approach wasn’t the right path to follow.
This has been communicated to the teams following qualifying in Spain.
