F1’s ‘Driving Standards Guidelines’ have been agreed on by the drivers and teams to set the ground on which the stewards’ decisions are based. But in recent weeks following incidents in Austin and Mexico, they’ve come under fire for causing inconsistency in the stewards’ decision making.
These guidelines are not publicly available but were planned to be added into the FIA’s International Sporting Code for 2025. However in light of this recent criticism the drivers, teams and stewards are in favour of making changes sooner than originally planned.
George Russell, who sits as a director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, confirmed to media that the stewards are “totally on board” with the plan to make changes at the Qatar Grand Prix weekend, as are “19 out of 20” drivers who, in Russell’s words, said, “‘well, if it’s incorrect, make the change today.’”
“It sometimes seems more difficult than it has to be [to change the rules] when things have to get approved and we’ve got to go to a vote app. But as I said, 19 out of 20, we’re all aligned on where it needs to be.”
Russell also gave his opinion on the incidents and penalties received by Lando Norris in Austin and Max Verstappen in Mexico; “I’m glad to see those incidents were punished and I suspect moving forward in Brazil what we saw today and what we saw last week you won’t be able to get away with.”
