28/07/2016
NEWS STORY
One of the hot topics in recent weeks has been the inconsistency of the radio rules.
Lewis Hamilton got things going when he suffered a malfunction in Baku and called on his team for help resetting a mode on his steering wheel, the Briton being told that the rules didn't permit such assistance. Meanwhile, teammate Nico Rosberg, who had clearly read the instruction manual, dealt with a similar issue without any need for assistance.
In subsequent races, Kimi Raikkonen asked for a simple 'yes' or 'no' with a setting, while Force India was unable to warn Sergio Perez of an impending brake issue in Austria.
That msn Rosberg was back in the headlines when he was given a 10s time penalty at Silverstone after his team guided him through an issue, thereby sparking fears that teams would flout the rules knowing that at worst they would get a penalty similar to the German's.
In the wake of a major crack down, Jenson Button put the folly of the rules back in the headlines when he was handed a time penalty in Hungary after his team helped him with a brake issue, the Briton publicly criticising the rules, claiming that the instructions he was given related to safety and not performance.
Following today's meeting of the Strategy Group, where one of the priorities was the seeming inconsistency of certain rules and how they are applied, just a week after tightening said rules the FIA has performed a major climb down - and not for the first time this season.
"At the request of the Teams and Commercial Rights Holder, the FIA has agreed to adopt a more liberal approach to the interpretation of Article 27.1 (that a driver must drive the car “alone and unaided”)," said the sport's governing body tonight.
"With the exception of the period between the start of the formation lap and the start of the race, there will be no limitations on messages teams send to their drivers either by radio or pit board.
"This approach is aimed at providing improved content for fans and spectators, as teams will now be required to provide the Commercial Rights Holder with unrestricted access to their radio messages at all times that their cars are out of the garage."
Check out our Thursday gallery from Hockenheim, here.