The law of unintended consequences

The rules of engagement between drivers in F1 came to the forefront in the past couple of weeks in Austin and Mexico City as Lando Norris fought to reduce Max Verstappen’s lead in this year’s World Championship. Right around the world fans of both persuasions are up in arms, the Lando fan club enraged about the penalty in Texas while Max fans are no less unhappy about their man having to serve a 20-second penalty in the Mexican pitlane, a wait that probably felt longer than the long haul flight getting there.

Even among those in the paddock well versed in the rules and regulations, let alone the fans, the way stewards apply penalties has been hard to understand of late and I totally understand why it’s pretty much impossible for people at home to see the full picture.

To help clarify matters we must first rewind back to 2021, and a spate of pretty ugly racing moments between Max and Lewis Hamilton. At the end of that season, the drivers all asked the FIA to formulate a set of guidelines that defined the way they should go racing in a fair and acceptable manner. These guidelines would then be applied not just by the drivers to know what is and what is not beyond the limit, but also by the stewards so that penalties were issued fairly and impartially across the board.