Austrian GP: Vettel Spared Thanks to More Lenient Stewards

The Austrian Grand Prix was supposed to mark the beginning of a new approach by the race stewards regarding the issue of penalties imposed on drivers during certain duels.

Always within the framework of a global reflection on the spectacle in F1, the team representatives of the F1 Commission, during their mid-week meeting last week, requested, according to *Autosport*, that the governing bodies adopt a more flexible attitude towards race incidents.

In particular, the teams want the stewards not to investigate immediately as soon as a contact occurs on track, in order to allow and even encourage the drivers to take more risks, which would add to the spectacle. The FIA then agreed to reconsider its approach.

Thus, Charlie Whiting, delegate of the International Federation, agreed not to systematically report every collision between two drivers—as required by Article 16.1 of the F1 Sporting Regulations—to allow the stewards alone the possibility to decide whether or not to take up the incident with a view to sanctioning. In practice, the stewards might only penalize in cases of clear responsibility of a driver in a contact that could have been avoided.

The briefing preceding the Austrian Grand Prix allowed Charlie Whiting to explain this new approach to team officials. The implementation of this new philosophy requires teams to be more accommodating and not constantly call for the intervention of officials.

During the Austrian Grand Prix race, a notable incident – involving Sebastian Vettel and Esteban Gutiérrez on the 28th lap – was indeed investigated by the stewards. However, they decided not to impose a penalty on the four-time world champion, whose maneuver did lead to contact with the Mexican driver. In light of the new guidelines from the F1 Commission, no further action was taken, as stated in a note published after the race.