Whiting: commissioners will be more fair and responsive

FIA stewards have been instructed to only open investigations at Grands Prix if a driver has carried out a potentially dangerous maneuver. The International Automobile Federation wishes to respond to the desire of teams (and the public) to offer more freedom to competitors in races.

Charlie Whiting, the FIA ​​race director, confirmed this new approach in the Melbourne paddock where the Australian GP will be held this weekend.

“The teams asked that there be fewer investigations and that they be opened only in cases of obvious danger, said Charlie Whiting. We had a meeting yesterday with all the commissioners. We studied all of last year's controversial incidents to see how they would have reacted under the new approach. Sometimes things would have been handled differently. »

Tools available

“To help the commissioners, they will have a video archive system which will allow them to instantly access incidents of the same nature. They will be able to see the decisions made without having to remember what was done. The commissioners will therefore be able to be fairer but also more responsive”, added Charlie Whiting.

The commissioners' decisions were the subject of criticism last year, particularly for incidents involving Max Verstappen who frequently escaped punishment.