Incubus
Champion Elect
Jenson Button's failure to allow Massa to re-pass him, and subsequent penalty is merely the latest in a long-line of incidents involving the relatively-recent introduction of the "give-the-position-back" rule.
There has been a number of similar incidents over the past few years, and they have dully divided opinions, and left most participants feeling short-changed in one way or another.
Seems to me people have overlooked another recent widespread change to the layout of tracks, and one which in my view, is the common denominator in all of the above-mentioed incidents.
Astro-turf.
there was never any need for a rule allowing a driver overtaken by a another exceeding the track's limits, simply because a driver missing his braking point in the days of yore meant only one thing: a trip on the grass, or on the gravel-trap. When finding yourself on a grassy surface you imperatively lift off, and will therefore not gain any advantage. You can only lose a bundle of time in the process.
Today you simply keep on the throttle rejoin the track almost as soon as you've left it.
Rather than constantly trying to issue "clarifications" and guidelines that seem to be changing as the whole thing goes along, why doesn't anyone at the FIA's headquarters ever seem ro address the root-cause of the problem?
There has been a number of similar incidents over the past few years, and they have dully divided opinions, and left most participants feeling short-changed in one way or another.
Seems to me people have overlooked another recent widespread change to the layout of tracks, and one which in my view, is the common denominator in all of the above-mentioed incidents.
Astro-turf.
there was never any need for a rule allowing a driver overtaken by a another exceeding the track's limits, simply because a driver missing his braking point in the days of yore meant only one thing: a trip on the grass, or on the gravel-trap. When finding yourself on a grassy surface you imperatively lift off, and will therefore not gain any advantage. You can only lose a bundle of time in the process.
Today you simply keep on the throttle rejoin the track almost as soon as you've left it.
Rather than constantly trying to issue "clarifications" and guidelines that seem to be changing as the whole thing goes along, why doesn't anyone at the FIA's headquarters ever seem ro address the root-cause of the problem?