BBC commentator Martin Brundle has said that the new regulations have to allow drivers leeway in a fight for position. The new rules are intended to force drivers to try to overtake, because a win is now worth more, but Brundle says the driver must be allowed to do this without the fear of off-track reprisal.
Speaking to BBC Radio 2, Brundle said he was hoping for more on-track battles.
“Maybe now we will get a couple of desperate young drivers who have to win the race, because second place isn’t just a comfortable eight points anymore. All I hope is that if young drivers are challenged to go for it, they don’t then get penalised for having a go, which we have seen in the past,†said the influential pundit.
He was perhaps referring to Lewis Hamilton’s penalties in 2008 for overtaking Sebastien Bourdais in France, and subsequently Kimi Raikkonen in Belgium. Although both moves were defensible, they were later adjudged illegal by race stewards.
Brundle added that he could understand why the new rules had been put in place.
‘What Bernie [Ecclestone F1 commercial rights-holder] is fed up with is the fact that Lewis [Hamilton] can cruise around to fifth to win the championship in the final race, though of course what a race that was,†he said, referring to the finale of the 2008 season at Interlagos.
