Sauber boss sees racing guidelines boding well for F1: 'Less Stewarding inconsistency'

20:26, 06 May

Updated: 20:29, 06 May

byNorberto Mujica

Current Sauber boss, Jonathan Wheatley, with his background as former Red Bull sporting director, may indeed know the updated racing guidelines better than most, and labels them as a step 'in the right direction' for F1.

'Drivers know how to game guidelines, making the Stewards' jobs hard'

Speaking to media like GPblog in Miami, Wheatley said his piece on the updated racing guidelines. "Why have we got the guidelines we've got now?," he wonders. "I think it's because people have needed absolute clarity."

"When I first started in the sporting role 19 years ago or something, you had Charlie Whiting (former racing director, ed.) there. If he said it was black or white, you just listened to what he said and that was good enough."

"But drivers are bright, teams are bright, there's a lot of people involved looking at these overtaking manoeuvres and what makes a good one or a difficult one. I still don't think I've ever seen two overtaking manoeuvres that are the same," added the Sauber boss.

"The stewards have had to try really hard to put some guidelines together to help them with the decision making. And then of course the drivers are not silly, they know how to game them and how to maximise their potential in any overtaking manoeuvre."

Red Bull's Max Verstappen defending from McLaren's Lando Norris at the start of the Miami Grand Prix

'F1 racing guidelines to stop what some people would dive-bomb for'

Drivers are wired to compete and to push, not only their cars, but also the regulations that govern racing, to their limits. As such, some overtaking manoeuvres at times go a bit too far over the edge, something Wheatley believes the recently updated racing guidelines have tried to reduce.

"I think the latest guidelines have been a really strong attempt to stop what some people would dive-bomb for," he added.

A three-way battle into Turn 1 as Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz and Lewis Hamilton battle for P7 at the Miami Grand Prix

'Updated rules are going in the right direction'

Some of the rules around racing have been the fruit of an exchange between the FIA and the drivers themselves, in response to the many controversies that have risen in recent years. Not all guidelines, though, have been created with the drivers' input at heart, clarifies the Sauber team principal.

"I think there's been a healthy dialogue between the drivers and the FIA over this. I feel like there's just been some guidelines created without the involvement of the drivers."

George Russell as co-chair of the Grand Prix Drivers Association has urged the FIA to listen to the drivers more

"I've been in many, many open and frank discussions. I think everyone's trying their best to get complete clarity on what is and what isn't acceptable and to try to have the most consistent stewarding that you can have."

Wheatley then highlights a marker around the racing guidelines that bodes well for the future of F1.

"And honestly, genuinely, I don't think we're talking a huge amount about stewarding inconsistency nowadays. So you have to maybe say that we're going in the right direction as a sport."