Red Bull boss Christian Horner has spoken of his concern that “too many regulations” in Formula 1 are making some of the wheel-to-wheel action “unnatural”.
The FIA has, for this year, changed the rules on overtaking in F1, with emphasis on a driver’s entitlement to space when overtaking around the outside.
Previously, the driver on the inside was required to leave a car’s width to the driver trying to pass on the outside, but this rule is now no longer in place.
This means that drivers can be more impolite when it comes to defending themselves, which, to those unaware of the rule changes, is why stewards did not intervene.
The topic arose after the Miami Grand Prix, when Max Verstappen’s conduct was called into question in relation to the defence of his position against Oscar Piastri.
Speaking after the race, Horner expressed that the alterations to the racing rulebook have left him feeling uneasy about how overtakes can now be conducted.
“I think that it doesn’t feel like natural racing anymore,” Horner told media including Motorsport Week.
“It feels like maybe we’re becoming over-regulated in the wheel-to-wheel racing, because they’re racing to different lines, and I’m not sure whether we just need to… it’s becoming quite unnatural.
“So I don’t know whether we just need a little bit of a reset.
“It’d be good if perhaps the drivers were to discuss that in the next race, because it just feels like, when you introduce too many regulations, you end up driving to the regs, and it becomes a little unnatural.”
Stewards ‘correct’ in Saudi F1 example, says Piastri
A case in point of the F1 overtaking rule changes is Oscar Piastri’s defence of Max Verstappen in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, in which the Australian fervently defended the position at the start of the race.
This was deemed fair, and Piastri went on to win the race.
However, the Australian has stated that prior knowledge of the rule change did not come into the equation at the moment.
“I wasn’t that surprised that it became such a big talking point,” he said.
“You know, it’s the lead of the race at Turn 1, and ultimately it’s what probably dictated the result. So I wasn’t that surprised. I think the call the stewards made was correct.
“I know that those are the rules and the guidelines, but I think also, when you take that away, I think being as far alongside as I was into the corner, at that point, I thought it was my corner, and I wasn’t going to back out at that point.
“I think, whenever you’re in that position, you’re always trying to claim the corner as best as you can.
“Maybe some people consciously think about the guidelines when they’re in that position, but I think it goes back to instinct and what you’ve grown up racing with and I think I’ve always grown up racing people firmly and expecting the same back.”
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