FIA considering new type of penalty in F1

The FIA ​​is reportedly considering introducing a time penalty to punish exceeding track limits. This five-second sanction could be implemented soon to avoid punishing the driver in question with a particularly penalizing drive-through. The incident of Romain Grosjean at the Hungarian Grand Prix would have pushed the Federation to consider this solution again, the Lotus driver's overtaking of Felipe Massa not having merited a passage through the pits while the Frenchman was in a position to challenge for the podium.

“A discussion on this subject took place a year ago and the sports group brought it up again a few days ago”, explained Sam Michael, the sports director of McLaren, on ESPN F1. “It’s difficult because it’s hard to lose five seconds on a lap. But you have to keep in mind that when faced with a drive-though that costs 12 seconds, sometimes more, it would be good to study this avenue. The question is how it applies. The stewards explain that this is the minimum penalty to be imposed during the race when they believe that a reprimand is not enough but that a drive-through is too severe. They are trying to find an intermediate solution which can come next year or be tested experimentally in racing. »