The FIA is to revise the wording of its controversial racing guidelines after a meeting with the Formula 1 drivers in Mexico in the wake of Max Verstappen’s tactics against Lando Norris at Austin.
The governing body is understood to have accepted that changes to the guidelines were required to close a loophole Verstappen has been exploiting regarding strong defending when under attack from another car, with other instances of questionable tactics also being targeted.
Motorsport.com understands it will present its suggested revisions back to the drivers for approval at another meeting with them in Qatar next month and because these are guidelines they can be used by the stewards immediately rather than requiring sign-off by other FIA bodies.
There could be a potential issue in that Grand Prix Drivers’ Association signs off on F1’s racing guidelines and the drivers are not united on the incidents that occurred last weekend.
Sauber driver Valtteri Bottas said on Thursday in Mexico that “some drivers are pushing the limits of the regulations more and almost like kind of taking the piss out of it”.
The usual post-FP2 drivers’ meeting for the Mexico event ran for an unusually long time, as, Motorsport.com understands, the FIA briefing and explanation of Norris’s penalty for overtaking Verstappen off the track late in their Austin battle was followed by a GPDA meeting.
The stewards of the Mexico meeting attended along with the team sporting managers as usual, along with the sporting representative of Formula One Management.
Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, battles with Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images
During the meeting, the drivers outlined their positions on what Verstappen has been doing, with some siding strongly with Norris’s point of view – expressed post-race in Austin and again on the Mexico media day that he was “no longer the attacking car, [Verstappen] was” – while others felt Verstappen’s tactics were hard but fair within the rules as they are currently written.
However, although getting complete driver unanimity is always going to be a tough ask, Motorsport.com understands there is enough support at this stage for the guidelines changes to be accepted before the end of the current campaign and following the Qatar meeting.
In a statement provided to media, the FIA said of the meeting, “there was a general commitment to continue to update the driving standards guidelines”.
“Bearing in mind the drivers requested the drivers’ racing guidelines and agreed to their introduction along with the GPDA,” the statement added, “each time they are updated it is consultation with the drivers.
“It is generally accepted that they should continue to evolve, not because of isolated incidents such as Austin, but driven by the desire to bring consistency to determinations and decisions from the stewards.”
The last significant evolution of the guidelines – first introduced at the drivers’ request in 2022 – is understood to have occurred after the 2023 Singapore GP and in the Mexico meeting while there were specific disagreements the overall tone of the meeting was collaborative.
