Martin Brundle believes F1 needs to change its driver guidelines after Sunday’s clash between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen at the US Grand Prix.
The two title contenders were involved in a controversial incident on lap 52. Norris overtook Verstappen outside the racetrack before being hit with a five-second penalty, demoting the Brit to fourth and elevating the Red Bull driver to the podium.
While Sky Sports F1 pundit Brundle believes Verstappen was “cunning” in his defence of third place on the track, he reinstates the need for clarity in the rules with McLaren aggrieved with the penalty post-race in Austin
“As far as I’m concerned, the six-page Guidelines (therefore not regulations), which have been signed off by the FIA, the drivers’ association (GPDA), and the teams, are a blueprint to dissuade overtaking, especially around the outside,” Brundle said, in his Sky Sports column.
“There are key reference points that are hard to define for both drivers and stewards, such as where exactly is the apex of any given corner across the entire width of the track, along with specific front axle and car mirror positions in a fast-moving event such as a racing overtake.
“I don’t know what happened to the ‘let them race’ approach from a while back which worked reasonably well.”
Brundle’s colleague and former F1 driver Anthony Davidson has implored executives at the Circuit of the Americas to put gravel on the outside of turn 12 to avoid similar scenarios in the future, a viewpoint Brundle adheres to.
“We witnessed back at the Austrian GP where a simple channel of gravel and other circuit furniture can dissuade driving off the defined racetrack, without having high kerbs which can dangerously launch cars into the air,” he said.
“It costs money to replace and return this for motorcycle racing where it simply doesn’t work, but in the grand scale of F1 things that’s not expensive.
“The circuit layouts and run-offs create the problems, and the ever more complex driving rules fail to manage all of the inevitable and varied issues. Don’t simply blame the referees, that’s not fair and won’t solve the problem.
“The driving guidelines need a serious tweak, and much simplification.”
McLaren driver Norris now trails Verstappen by 57 points heading into this weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix.
