F1 to ban driver radios (Update)
Germany's Auto Motor und Sport reports that the increasing trend for radio instructions about how the drivers should actually drive the cars have proved a major turn-off for the fans.
One example crackled over the TV-transmitted radio on Friday at Monza, when championship leader Nico Rosberg told his Mercedes engineer Tony Ross: "Give me driving instructions."
And Ferrari's Andrea Stella told Fernando Alonso, regarded as perhaps the very best F1 driver, to "take another line in turn 10" of the fabled Italian circuit last weekend.
According to Auto Motor und Sport on Tuesday, the FIA is now banning these types of radio messages to drivers, effective as of next weekend's Singapore round.
It is also believed the FIA wants to clamp down on instructions to drivers including which dials and buttons they should press on the steering wheel.
The report said the Paris federation is enforcing the 'ban' simply by invoking a clarification of the existing Article 20.1 of the sporting regulations, which states: "The driver must drive the car alone and unaided."
09/09/14 Formula 1 chiefs are considering a team radio clampdown as part of a push to make the sport more challenging for drivers again, AUTOSPORT can reveal.
Following discussions at an F1 Strategy Group meeting at the Italian Grand Prix, it is understood a number of teams have asked the FIA to find a way of banning certain types of radio communications because they are considered a turn-off for fans.
The radical push has been prompted by the theory that a perception that drivers are 'puppets' who simply follow instructions from the pits is one of the factors in F1's popularity decline.
There is also particular concern that drivers are relying more and more on information from the pits about where they can gain lap time, especially in comparison with their team-mates.
This is especially true of championship contenders Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton, who have both been fed constant information by Mercedes this season.
Although there is little desire for a total ban on team radio, it is understood that efforts will be made to outlaw specific communications from the pits that help drivers with their performance.
This is likely to come from a strict enforcement of Article 20.1 of F1's Sporting Regulations that states: "The driver must drive the car alone and unaided."
The FIA could make it clear that any communication from the pits that helps the drivers with their performance – rather than being for procedural or safety reasons – is a breach of the rules. More at Autosport