Probably the most important thing you need to know about Formula 1’s Driving Standards Guidelines is written in a bold typeface, with selective capitalisation, at the top of the document: “These are GUIDELINES and NOT REGULATIONS”.
This cuts to the essence of the difficulty in giving clarity to drivers and stewards alike of what is acceptable conduct on track and what isn’t. To list every possible circumstance and an appropriate outcome would require a document the size of an old-fashioned telephone directory rather than five pages of words and diagrams.
