Ferrari F1 team principal Mattia Binotto has questioned F1’s current season allocation of three power units per driver and engine penalty rules following a grid disruption at the Italian Grand Prix and his discard.
Ahead of the F1 Italian Grand Prix, nine drivers replaced engine components outside the limit, leaving the race’s starting grid significantly different from the original qualifying positions.
The absurd confusion has not only confused F1 fans, but also the FIA stewards who took hours to understand the changes and announce the starting grid.
Mattia Binotto believes that F1 needs to simplify the engine penalty rules for the benefit of the team as well as the fans, especially with the 2023 F1 calendar, which has expanded to a record 24 races. We believe that the power unit allocation needs to current required be increased.
“The reason why it took so long to publish the grid is certainly because the regulations are open to interpretation and not clear enough,” said Mattia Binotto.
“This is definitely something we need to work on in the future. I think the amount of penalties we received was too much, as well as the way grid positions are determined based on penalties.”
“I think it’s difficult for the fans, but it’s difficult not to start from pole position when you have a grid penalty, so 3 PU per driver at that stage. Maybe it’s too little for what we have achieved.”
“Maybe we need to rethink about next season.”
Aston Martin F1 team principal Mike Clack has the same idea.
“I think the system is complicated for the audience to understand,” said Mike Clack to Monza.
“For me, too, it was just waiting. I guess I guessed ‘Where do I start?’ and the final grid came out quite late.”
“I think it’s interesting for the fans when the car doesn’t start where it should be.”
“But does it have to be this complicated? I think it can be simpler.”
Instead of awarding grid penalties to drivers who exceed their engine allocation limits, it was proposed to combine them with F1 teams’ championship points.
Mercedes F1 team boss Toto Wolff does not support the idea, but admits that the regulations governing changes to power unit components should be simplified.
“We don’t want to have a qualifying engine and we don’t want to use an engine every race, so there are grid penalties,” explained Toto Vorg.
“There have been proposals to give penalty points to teams in the championship, but that would not solve the problem, because you would be throwing the engine at a driver who could win the championship.”
“I think we need to sort them out (engine penalty rules). Maybe next year we can do it unanimously. It makes sense.”
“It makes sense for all of us to put our heads together and say, ‘How can we clean it up to avoid confusion?'”
Category: F1 / Ferrari
