Source: REUTERS/Rula Rouhana
[Saba Sports News] The FIA race stewards have the
authority to impose penalties on drivers who cause accidents on the track.
Previously, for situations where a driver gained an unfair advantage in terms
of position or time, a 5-second penalty was typically imposed. Drivers could
serve this penalty during a pit stop in the race. If they didn’t make any
further pit stops, the 5-second penalty would be added to their race time after
crossing the finish line. However, there have been concerns that the 5-second
penalty is not significant enough for certain incidents, as faster cars can
easily make up that time due to their performance advantages. This has created
a gray area in the rules. To address this issue, this year’s competitions will
increase the punishment for such incidents, raising the penalty time from 5
seconds to 10 seconds. In the F3 Bahrain Grand Prix, driver Luke Browning was
given a 10-second penalty for overtaking outside the track limits during the
race. This penalty marked the first instance of the increased punishment being
enforced.