FIA to change safety car rules
When the safety car returned to the pits on the final lap of Sunday's famous street race, Michael Schumacher passed Fernando Alonso and was subsequently handed a 20-second penalty by the stewards.
Mercedes vowed to appeal the decision but ultimately decided not to proceed, with the FIA now admitting the incident "showed a lack of clarity in the application of the rule prohibiting overtaking behind the safety car".
"Adjustments to the regulations are necessary", the Paris body explained in a statement.
The problem of the flashing green lights and waving of green flags is also to be addressed, with the FIA vowing to ensure "that the signaling for teams and drivers is made more clear".
05/20/10 Following Michael Schumacher's move on Fernando Alonso at Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix the FIA has admitted the rules have a lack of clarity and adjustments to the regulations are necessary. The F1 Sporting Working Group will submit an amendment to the Sporting Regulations and these amendments will be considered by the WMSC in June.
At Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix Michael Schumacher was handed a twenty-second penalty for overtaking under Safety Car conditions. As the Safety Car returned to the pit lane on the final lap in Monaco green flags and lights were displayed around the track – meaning under normal circumstances the field has returned to full racing. However the rules state that no more passing is permitted if the Safety Car has been in use on the last lap.
The FIA now admits the rules need to be changed.
A statement by the FIA said:
The problems identified during the final lap of the Monaco Grand Prix, counting for the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship, showed a lack of clarity in the application of the rule prohibiting overtaking behind the Safety Car.
Adjustments to the regulations are necessary to clarify the procedure that cars must meet when the last lap is controlled by the Safety Car whilst also ensuring that the signaling for teams and drivers is made more clear.
These adjustments will help to avoid the problem which occurred during the Monaco Grand Prix from happening in the future.
The Formula One Commission, upon a proposal of the F1 Sporting Working Group will submit an amendment to the Sporting Regulations to address this issue. These amendments will be considered by the World Motor Sport Council at its next meeting in Geneva on June 23.