My wife was working race control for the USGP. Interesting stories from there. That Verstappen call at the end isn't as cut and dry as people think. There was a legit counter-argument but Charlie put his foot down....
They screwed with him. It was a great clean pass! Bottas did the same thing in turn 1 early in the race while battling Max. Only difference being he got away with it while they chose to screw with Max.
He did, technically, exceed track limits. He may have been forced to go that wide by Raikkonen's line but he also gained an advantage while doing it. To me the issue, other than that it affected the podium (ouch!), is he was the only driver penalized for it...and Bottas wasn't the only driver who got away with it. Penalize all or penalize none but be consistent.
It's a tough call whether to penalize at all for exceeding track limits when the drivers all know that's the quickest way around some corners. After all, every time you gain some time and/or speed by fully crossing the line you've gained a competitive advantage even if no one else is near the corner, but you know you won't be penalized if you're not actively passing someone in the process. So, if you don't penalize drivers every time they fully cross the line, they're going to consider doing it when other cars aren't around but then suddenly need to change their driving habit to the slower/less advantageous line whenever they're trying to pass someone? That's clearly backward, which is why drivers in other series' say either penalize every time someone exceeds track limits (so they all know what to expect and there won't be any surprises) or never penalize even if a competitive advantage is gained. The trouble with adopting the 'never penalize' option is that eliminates the value of establishing track limits in the first place. If you want to limit drivers to a particular patch of asphalt - a good idea, IMO - you need either clearly marked limits or barriers, and I think they would all prefer the former. Thus the need for rules re respecting track limit demarcation.
All that said, it will always seem like exceptions should be made when something so clearly affects a race outcome, esp. when it happens on the last lap and affects the podium.....and even more so when the guy being penalized was remarkably charging through the field only to be denied a podium finish. A tough call on the spot but yet another reason to complain that they need to either be consistent re rule enforcement or change the rules.
The whole field deserved a 5 second penalty. As with all forms of racing the rules need to be enforced equally, but they never are. I feel there are those in power that see Max as some sort of threat to the status quo. I see him as a great talent that will make a lasting impression on F1. All he needs is the right car.
After watching those highlights, on hindsight, it does look like Verstappen completed his pass on Raikkonen in that 1 second where all 4 wheels were off the track. Compare that with Bottas, when Bottas went off track and came back on, the pass was not completed. It wasn't until they got to the next corner that the pass completed. So I could see maybe why no penalty was assessed.
And once again they over complicate the crap out of this.......how about if you go off the racing surface with all 4 wheels at any point you get a penalty? simple and applies to EVERYONE EQUALLY!
Exclusion - being forced off by another driver.......
Will Buxton (I think it was him) said take the humans out of the equation and use telemetry/sensors and other electronics instead. If the onboard system detects the car has exceeded track limits, it automatically reduces power output 10% for a full lap. That much power reduction might be a bit extreme but it is a clear penalty (without needing to resort to putting gravel at all the track limits) and the potential for human error would have nothing to do with the decision. Unfortunately, it also negates the ability to skip the penalty if he was forced off; the electronics can't handle that sort of decision making.
Maybe use that sort of detection system to alert the stewards who then have only the option of deleting the penalty before it is automatically applied one or two laps later. That way, they're not expected to detect every offense visually or rely on team radio calls to tip them off and the penalties are applied automatically unless quickly rescinded. Still leaves some human judgement calls to be made...
I'll say it again, if you're going to have true track limits so everyone is constrained equally, you need either physical barriers (penalties automatically applied, and harshly) or visual markers and artificial penalties for exceeding them, and the later comes with a certain amount of human judgement and therefore, potentially, inconsistency. The human stewards seem to be the weak links in the chain...
The problem comes when a driver forces another off the racing surface, you don't want an instant penalty for that, unless you can put it on the driver who did the force out - it's complicated, I'll admit.
The Driver's Steward for the race at COTA was Mika Salo. Apparently he's received death threats over the "injustice" that demoted Verstappen from 3rd to 4th.....
