The Verstappen Rule

Il_leone

World Champion
Formula 1 outlaws moving under braking after protests over Max Verstappen

Well it looks like all the drivers have finally ganged up on Max Verstappen to force Charlie Whiting's hand to finally concede that Max was driving on the edge of acceptability and he would cause an accident

Everyone can see it takes a fraction of second for the driver not to be able to react to Verstappen and they will be launched into the air

At Suzuka I started seeing other drivers doing exactly the same thing at the back notably Sainz which shows the clampdown should have acted way before this especially at Spa.

Max might think he is invincible but he is just one crash away from feeling human and from potentially being banned
 
I kiinda like the rule in Indycar: defending is allowed, blocking not. I.e. if the attacking driver moves, the defending driver is not allowed to block that move. If he wants to defend he has to do that before the attacker moves.
 
Wombcat I do seem to remember when Mansell went over to Indy in 1993 he was making defensive moves which were very robust and angered the established series drivers
 
Wombcat It was that rule that Mansell was what the drivers felt he was overboard with late defending and weaving .. okay not as ridiculous as Verstappen but they were not used to his aggressiveness in wheel to wheel
 
Was it an unwritten rule at Mansel's time or a written one?

In F1 not moving in the braking zone is an unwritten rule, hence the discussion about it now. According to the written rules, Verstappen is doing nothing wrong, but according to the unwritten ones, he is. That's why the drivers want the rule written down now.
 
So who do we think will be the first fall foul of the rule? Shall we have a prediction poll?

My guess is Gutierrez.
 
I think this rule enforcement is another example of the drivers being micro managed and is yet another opportunity for rule abuse or misinterpretation.
 
cider_and_toast I thought the rules are pretty clear i) One you can't move around the braking zone ii) you can't suddenly dart across at the last minute to block someone which is what Verstappen does

I think must people I they saw he did that on a motorway would be seriously incenced that he leaves so late. He is relying on the braking ability of the driver behind with proper brakes to slow down enough to avoid an accident.. in F1 the brakes are immensely powerful but it only takes a split second for someone to misjudge their braking point like Webber to be launched into the air
 
Webber got caught out by a rapidly slowing car in front catching him out - different scenario - but take your point that something like that could happen with a late move under braking. But I don't think Verstappen will do it again, coz he's smart.
 
Young Max has made mistakes, crashed out, been beaten by his team-mate - in short he's shown his weaknesses. He's young and hasn't been reprimanded for feisty driving, but I think 'aura of invincibility' is a dramatic exaggeration.

The danger with creating a rule for this sort of thing is determining exactly when to use it. There's already rules to say that if a move is dangerous enough, a driver will be reprimanded. This 'under braking' clause might be valid in one corner but not another.

Pretty cool to have a rule named after you though heh.
 
During one of the recent free practice sessions on the Beeb they had a report saying that males do not become fully adult until the age of 25; this was showing up in one way as them not realising that they were taking thoughtless actions in moments of stress. This would seem to tie in with Verstappen's behaviour.
 
Only if it relates to physics.

There are no rules in Physics..... they are laws ;)

Judge-Dredd-19b.jpg


During one of the recent free practice sessions on the Beeb they had a report saying that males do not become fully adult until the age of 25; this was showing up in one way as them not realising that they were taking thoughtless actions in moments of stress. This would seem to tie in with Verstappen's behaviour.

Like driving in to the pits when no one is expecting you?
 
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Apparently the voting was split 49% yes to 51% no on the BBC poll. No doubt just want to see an accident to suddenly change their tones
 
Shall we stop sportsmen making any important decisions until they're 25?? And what do the BBC say when a 26 year old makes a dubious decision under stress??

Verstappen should be applauded for his extremely exciting driving style, coolness under pressure, ability to hold his own in a conversation and for already being a pivotal person in the paddock. Yes, his moves were potentially dangerous, but the rule's there now, so get over it.
 
The danger with creating a rule for this sort of thing is determining exactly when to use it. There's already rules to say that if a move is dangerous enough, a driver will be reprimanded. This 'under braking' clause might be valid in one corner but not another.

It should be noted that no new rule has been created. The existing rules have just been reinterpreted.
 
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