New overtaking rules from FIA

[lebesset]

it has been clear from the outset that two rules are required , and I hope the stewards interpret it that way ...the rule should really have been better draughted in my opinion

if the overtake is up the inside , the ...leave a cars width ...must apply

if the overtake is on the outside , the car with it's nose in front is entitled to use all the track unless it goes outside the racing line which would be blocking...if the overtaker doesn't draw back but goes off the track he clearly cannot pass

either way , the stupid blocking we have had will no longer result in collisions , not that it did between the top drivers under normal circumstances

[WhiteBlue]

There's no way the FIA sanctions an "official" racing line, if for no other reason than that the wet and dry lines are often different.

It does not get any more official than a document that is published in the the official pre event media package. This surely is the racing line in the dry. Obviously in the wet you do not have only one racing line. The judgement is at the discetion of the stewards how to apply the rule then.

[bhall]

I'm still not buying it. Those media packages also state the gears the drivers will use in each corner, and surely that doesn't mean that those gears are mandated for their respective corners. Beyond that, the sporting regulations do not define the racing line at all.

The drivers define the racing line throughout the course of the race weekend, and the stewards then use that line as their reference.

I might be wrong, but I can't think of much in the world of racing more ridiculous than the governing body specifying the exact line cars must take on the track. That's absurd.

[WhiteBlue]

I might be wrong, but I can't think of much in the world of racing more ridiculous than the governing body specifying the exact line cars must take on the track. That's absurd.

So how do you think the FiA generates a "racing line"? They just paint the thing willy nilly on a piece of paper? I rather think they observe what happens in reality and reproduce it. So let's have a practical application!

We have a defending driver who passes the pit entry in Brazil and goes left off the racing line obviously to stop the attacker to pass him on the inside. But the attacker decides to pass on the outside. Applying the rule the defender must now leave a car's width between his car and the outside limit of the track all the way down the strait and around turn 1. If he stays left all the time and the attacker stays on the outside he can go back on the racing line for turn 1.

If we assume that the attacker only fakes an attempt to pass outside and manages to get on the inside before turn 1 then the defendinging driver cannot take the racing line for that turn. He will have to leave the door open on the inside in turn 1 and he has to wait for turn 2 to get back on the line.

[Just_a_fan]

There's no way the FIA sanctions an "official" racing line, if for no other reason than that the wet and dry lines are often different.

It does not get any more official than a document that is published in the the official pre event media package. This surely is the racing line in the dry. Obviously in the wet you do not have only one racing line. The judgement is at the discetion of the stewards how to apply the rule then.

I think you are over-playing the importance of that information. The racing line will be defined by the drivers depending on the conditions over the course of the weekend. Different driver/car combinations will also have differing lines in to the corners depending on how confident the driver is that his car will go where he asks it to. A driver who is concerned about understeer will naturally turn in earlier than one who has faith in the front grip. Who is on the racing line? They both are if they use the same line consistently.

If the lead drivers all take a certain line and that line is different from the one shown on the graphic, which line do you think the stewards will consider to be "the racing line"? The line used by 5 different World Champions or the line drawn by a graphics designer for a media pack?

[WhiteBlue]

Slight variations do not really matter. What will count in most cases is the general area where the racing line is. A foot of variation doesn't matter on a track that is 12 m wide, and near the apex all drivers try to cut as close as practical to it. We are talking about leaving 1.8m in case you have made a defensive move before. That should not be so difficult to judge. I have given a practical example and that should be enough to interprete the "racing line".

[strad]

What about at the start when you're dodging about both blocking and tryin g to find a way to pass.
A foot makes a BIG difference WB