“Zero Tolerance” Silverstone Track Limits
Today during the Qualifying session ahead of the British Grand Prix we saw a “Zero Tolerance” approach with drivers being warned to ‘respect the race track limits‘ before the qualifying session today however it didn’t go entirely to plan….
Zero Tolerance Qualifying 1
During Qualifying 1, we saw both Renault drivers, Jolyon Palmer and Kevin Magnussen having their times deleted after their cars left the track, with all four wheels going over the line.
At the end of Q1 there was a little mix up – at first, Jenson Button was eliminated out of Q1 – even getting out of his car, removing his helmet and making his way down the pit-lane.
Within minutes, he was running back to his car and waiting for the stewards to investigate Kevin Magnussen who had left the track (again) with all four wheels going over the line.
Zero Tolerance Qualifying 2
Qualifying 2 started, both Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen remaining in their cars and waiting for the stewards’ result.
The result from the stewards was – ‘no action’
Zero Tolerance Qualifying 3
Hamilton set a fastest lap time of 1:29.339 to the joy of Hamilton fans at Silverstone, cheering him on.
He returned to the pits only to find out his time had been deleted as he had gone off-track with all four wheels going over the line.
With a job on his hands, Hamilton got back on-track, setting another fastest lap time, ensuring that his car was on-track at all times without his car going over the track limit.
Zero Tolerance?
The “Zero Tolerance” rule wasn’t going entirely to plan – it started to receive a lot of criticism with Nigel Mansell tweeting a reply – ‘Drivers briefing it was agreed with all the drivers that turn 9, 15, 18 would be zero tolerance because those corners are where you get advantage.“
Personally, I’m all for zero tolerance rules, this adds a little bit more ‘spice‘ to qualifying sessions and makes it a lot more fun to watch but what I don’t agree with is the inconsistency of the rules in place.
The stewards shouldn’t have said ‘no-action’ considering that they were being ‘strict’ they should have been looking at Kevin Magnussen’s lap and took into consideration that he did leave the track with all four wheels – it could have resulted in a different outcome for Button.
Button had this to say after being eliminated from Q3 – “Ah it doesn’t matter now, it was either challenge for Q3 or be where we are now.“
“One place doesn’t really make any difference does it?” continuing – “It’s just a shame that they can’t do something before Q2 starts but as soon as Qualifying 2 starts, it’s game over for us which is a shame.“
What do you all think about the Zero Tolerance rules? Do you think they add an excitement factor to qualifying?
More to come soon!
The Formula 1 Girl 🙂
xx