A new rule could be enforced from the Spanish Grand Prix onwards following a heated debate in the driver briefing concerning Lewis Hamilton’s off-track overtake.
The drivers met on Friday to discuss any matters on their mind, as they do every Friday before a race, but sources suggest this particular meeting was more animated than usual.
A couple of drivers raised the point that Hamilton gained an unfair advantage by going off the track, when he overtook Nico Rosberg who aggressively defended his position in Bahrain last time out.
Whilst the FIA’s Charlie Whiting cleared Rosberg of any wrongdoing, he was pressured into making a ruling on whether or not drivers should be punished for gaining an advantage if they leave the tracks boundaries.
According to the BBC, Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa in particular, backed a zero-tolerance approach to any gains made off-track, but other drivers raised concerns that that would result in the smallest of gains being punished in the same manner.
Sebastian Vettel made the point that a 0.1 second advantage shouldn’t carry the same penalty as gaining a place off-track, therefore the stewards should be able to use their knowledge and discretion to make an informed decision.
Whiting is set to discuss the matter with the stewards on Saturday morning, before making a final decision at the end of the day – whatever he decides will then be in place for the remainder of the season.
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