Senior Formula 1 figures will meet at next weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix to discuss how to avoid a repeat of the scenes that unfolded during qualifying in Italy.
Formula 1 drivers slowed in Q3 in Belgium, in a bid to find the slipstream, but the situation was more pronounced in Italy one week later.
Seven of the nine drivers timed themselves out at the end of Q3, meaning they did not get in another lap, with stewards reprimanding Nico Hulkenberg, Carlos Sainz Jr. and Lance Stroll.
While a repeat is unlikely to occur this season, due to the nature of upcoming circuits, the stewards recommended that a solution be found to avoid a recurrence.
“There was a discussion with the drivers on Friday night, following Spa, and I think everyone in the room acknowledged there is not a simple regulatory fix for it,” said FIA Race Director Michael Masi.
“That’s something we had already agreed with the Sporting Directors, that we’d have a more in-depth discussion in Singapore.
“A few of the teams have started coming up with simulations and ideas of how that could be rectified as it’s in everyone’s interests.
“At the end of the day they’re elite sportsmen trying to get the maximum out of it.
“We can talk about gentlemen’s agreements and the rest of it, but once the visor comes down they’re all out there to do the best. We just need to look at it in detail.”
When asked why just three drivers had been investigated, and reprimanded, Masi commented: “Effectively the bottleneck that occurred at the start, and those three cars being ahead, were the initiating factor.
“If that hadn’t occurred then let’s just say everything else was a consequence thereafter and the others were passengers thereof.”
Discussion about this post