It is clear in my mind that the FIA and Formula 1 have a serious problem of effective and equitable adjudication and defining proper racing.

To give Vettle a 20 sec penalty for that pass is absolutely insane, given the way the FIA has ruled in the past. Just looking beyond the fact that had Vettle stayed on the track, Button would have collided with him as they were side-by-side and thus ended the race for both of them (is that the result the FIA would have preferred?) There is plenty of history of passing while off track has been allowed and gone unpunished.

Some have argued that this case is different because the actual pass took place off track (one car's nose moving past the other car's nose) but I'd say that where the actual 'pass' takes place is irrelevant to the entire discussion, and the only thing that matters is does the car gain any advantage by going full off track, and what was avoided by going full off track.

I will argue that going 4 wheels off track ALWAYS provides an advantage if you can continue racing as it means you went into the turn or whatever faster than you should have and thus gained some time. If we want to fix this issue, ensure that the full width of the car is just wider than ANY shoulder and thus if 4 wheels go off the farthest off wheels are then in gravel or a wall. Simple and effective.

However, I have seen many cases where cars pass off the track and no action is taken. Think back several years to any number of starts where cars pile into the first turn and many cars drive outside the track and around, rather than slotting in behind other cars to stay 'on track' and end up passing cars that did stay 'on track', or avoided the congestion of staying on track.

If staying on track is to be THE expectation, then the FIA must enforce it in ALL cases, not just when it happens to be to be a pass in the points positions at the end of the race. ALL times, be it in turn one amoung the pack, or a driver all by themselves. I hope next time the drivers just crash into each other and we'll have that to deal with, but at least they stayed on track. Right FIA?

 

I don't know, he clearly took to the paved run off and went behind the curbs to maintain his momentum off the corner and complete the pass. If there was enough time left in the race they would have radioed him to give up the position.

I agree though, there is no consistancy on how they rule these issues, and the 20 second penalty was harsh, he should have been bumped back to 3rd.

 

He should have lost the spot he took illegally passing Jenson off the track. I too was surprised that he got a drive through penalty. 20 seconds I thought was too harsh. However, it was clear as day that the FIA was going to come down on him for the move. I don't think there was any doubt.

 

I don't think the stewards came to a conclusion quick enough to hand down a drive through. There was only one lap left. They have handed down time penalties in the past when the race was nearly over.

SV's other option would have been to slow down and lose the place. He chose to put all 4 over the line. I'm sure he knew what he was doing. If he hadn't he may well have ended in second. As it played out he left room for Button and that was the good part.

 

I agree the passing off track should be outlawed. But it should always be outlawed in all cases... and so far it hasn't. If I see the FIA giving drive-through penalties for all cars in the future I might come to accept the decision.

Had Vettel stayed ON track, I suspect there would have been a collision since Button went all the way to the curb and there would have been no room for Vettel's car to be.. then 4th would have been 2nd, and 5th would have been 3rd.

With any rule, oncompromising consistancy in enforcing it in all cases is the only implementation I can support. Then everyone knows exactly what to expect. The FIA has not show that to be the case.

 

Totally agree the 20 second penalty was stupid. The worst he should have got was demoted back to third.
As Rebull boss Christian Horner and Vettel said Hamilton and Mclaren did far worse on track by stuffing up his race. Mclaren brought Hamilton in on a timed stop and put him on the softer tyre so he would come out in between the 3 leaders and give Button a chance to close them down, shortly after they retire Hamilton's car for no reason.
The FIA have been making these stupid decisions for many years, just watch Senna the movie and see how the back door politics plays out

 

agreed

It also appeared to me that Button closed down the outside gap during the turn, thus forcing Vettel outside the racing line. (similar to hamilton passing rosberg in Bahrain)

if they didn't penalize hamilton for that pass, the FIA shouldn't have penalized Vettel.

Also, Alonso got the pole position by leaving the track during qualifying.. yet, Vettel is harshly bumped from 2nd to 5th for leaving the track ?

Alonso (as great as he is & will prob win the crown this year) seem to be the poster boy for F1 this year.. while team Redbull is being witch-hunted for no apparent reason.

one of the big problem for F1 is the inconsistency of the Stewards, whether its politically motivated.. or problem with rule interpretation.. or simple stupidity.

 

I have to agree on this one: Button knew exactly what he was doing. He knew that Vettel would have to go off-track to save a crash and preserve any (slim!) chance he has in this year's championship. Given the scrutiny that RBR is under right now, he bet Vettel would get penalized and obviously won that bet.

 

I read an article where the FIA sent out a letter to the teams right before the Silverstone GP that off track passes were not allowed and would be penalized, but it also left it up to the race stewards at the track to make the final call. The 20 second penalty or drive through is the smallest penalty they are allowed to issue right now with the current rules. They are looking to revise to as little as 5 seconds which would have been more suited to this case.

 

Vettel should have immediately been ordered to give the position up rather than be handed a penalty after the fact. The white line is the track boundary though so passing someone with all 4 wheels off is a clear no-no.

 

Does the rule set say off track passing is not allowed, or did that letter revers the numerous prior allowance of off-track passing that was allowed by previous FIA statements?

If they are doing it right, that's great; lets hope they keep things consistent.

 

Agreed. But the rules also state you must leave room at the side of the track. Vettel was next to Button, who went all the way to the edge of the track with his left wheels... so the rules compliant move would have been for Vettel to stay on the track, have Button run into him and they both could have been blocking the rest of the racers behind them in the knowledge that they did the rules compliant thing.

To punish Vettel for an infraction that has been consistently unenforced for the last 8 years at least, and to then not punish Button for the infraction they recently clarified is just stupid.

 

I've seen so many on track/off track incidents. How many times I have seen weird drive through penalties, etc. I've been watching F1 for a very long time, I'm a McLaren fan and have dealt with my share of schenangens, Senna/Prost, Hack/Coultard, Alonso/Lewis. Always something.

4 wheels off, is 4 wheels off. He should have just conseeded the position and came right back.

I don't see how Hamilton unlapping himself is anything to be complaining about? That part is pretty black/white.