Sainz Asks for Review of F1 Guidelines: More Human Judgment, Less Rules?

Formula 1 driver Carlos Sainz has expressed his opinion on the controversial race guidelines in the premier category of motorsport. Sainz suggests that the sport could benefit from a more flexible approach in decision-making, similar to the analysis carried out by former drivers turned television commentators.

Criticisms of the Current Guidelines

Career guidelines, agreed upon by the drivers and the FIA at last year’s Qatar Grand Prix, have generated controversy due to the decisions of the stewards, who have strictly applied the rules in on-track incidents. Sainz was the subject of one of these decisions at the Dutch Grand Prix, although his team managed to overturn the penalty. Another example highlighted by Sainz was the penalty imposed on Oscar Piastri for a collision with Andrea Kimi Antonelli in the Brazilian Grand Prix, a decision that could influence this year’s championship. Sainz believes that greater freedom for the stewards, who have the experience to correctly assess race incidents, could be beneficial. In his statements prior to this year’s Qatar Grand Prix, where the FIA will review the race guidelines with the drivers, Sainz mentioned Karun Chandhok, Anthony Davidson, and Jolyon Palmer as former drivers capable of reaching accurate conclusions without the need for rigid guidelines.

I am quite impressed with the work some of the commentators do after a race, with this in-depth analysis of each of the incidents and how they apply blame or not in certain scenarios.

Carlos Sainz

Sainz, who is the director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA), believes that the current guidelines, which are largely based on the position of the overtaking car in relation to the one defending the position, are not applicable to all situations. The pilot believes that the guidelines have generated more problems than solutions in the evaluation of incidents, limiting the possibility of considering race incidents as such.