17/11/2012
NEWS STORY
Mat Coch writes:
Formula One drivers could soon be bound by penalties similar to those faced by road-going motorists. According to Race Director Charlie Whiting, a points system is under consideration for Formula One whereby drivers found guilty of a misdemeanour would lose points from their license. If enough points were lost a driver could be forced to sit out an event.
Driving standards have been in the headlines throughout 2012 thanks to Pastor Maldonado in Monaco, when he seemed to intentionally collide with Sergio Perez in practice, and Romain Grosjean's disastrous start to the Belgian Grand Prix. The Frenchman became the first man in almost two decades to sit a race out after he was deemed responsible for the accident which eliminated a number of front running cars at the first corner including championship leader Fernando Alonso.
"We would like to see a system, and indeed we will discuss it with the teams next Wednesday in Brazil, that will be similar to the sort of thing you have with your road license," Whiting admitted. "You will accrue points for all sorts of penalties whereas, at the moment, if you have a reprimand for being late to a press conference or a drivers' parade that wouldn't lead to a grid penalty."
The suggestion from Whiting is that such a system could keep drivers in line during post-race interviews, as well as having an impact on track. It's a notion which has found support with McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh.
"At the moment you have the three-race reprimand system and you are punished, so I think this is presumably a further elaboration of that," he commented. "Like all things, any penalty system, provided it is administered in a correct and consistent manner, why should we have any problem with it?"
The feeling within the paddock is that such a notion could help remove some of the subjective decision making that stewards are forced into, helping to eliminate inconsistent judgements for similar offences.
"If we looked at the superlicense approach, whether it be one point for one thing and two for another, they would all count," Whiting added. "That's something we would like to see, but it's probably not that simple. Nothing in F1 is really."