Formula 1 drivers have been warned not to drive unnecessarily slowly through the Turn 12/13 section of the Sochi Autodrom at this weekend’s Russian Grand Prix.
Through practice and qualifying drivers often try and create a space to their nearest rival in order to avoid their subsequent push lap being wrecked by an opponent.
In his pre-event notes Race Director Charlie Whiting has stressed that “any driver intending to create a gap in front of him to get a clear lap should not attempt to do this around Turns 12 or 13.”
Turn 12 is the blind high-speed left-hand kink that leads into the Turn 13 right-hander at the end of the back straight, where Carlos Sainz Jr. crashed heavily during practice in 2015.
Any driver seen to have transgressed against Whiting’s instruction will be reported to stewards on the offence of being in breach of Article 27.4, which states “at no time may a car be driven unnecessarily slowly, erratically or in a manner which could be deemed potentially dangerous to other drivers or any other person."
Drivers have also been instructed that should they run wide at Turn 2, and pass to the left of the orange kerb, then they must pass between the polystyrene blocks that have been installed.
Segments of the track, including the approaches to Turns 1 and 8, and the pit lane entry, have been resurfaced since last year’s event.
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