New FIA F1 chief sends new rule warning to drivers and teams

The FIA have released a new rule clarification for the Qatar Grand Prix weekend, in order to combat a specific issue.

Saturday will see the final sprint race of the season in Lusail, as well as qualifying for the Sunday feature race.

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While Max Verstappen has already sealed drivers' championship success, the constructors' championship battle remains wide open, with a three-way fight going down to the wire.

McLaren, chasing their first constructors' championship since 1998, currently lead Ferrari by 24 points, while reigning champions Red Bull are in third, 53 points behind McLaren.

FIA announce mandatory rule

Now, the FIA have revealed a mandatory rule for competitors driving in the sprint qualifying or main race qualifying sessions across the weekend.

With the Qatar GP being a sprint weekend, competitive action got underway on Friday with the sprint qualifying session, before a busy Saturday that features the sprint race and main race qualifying.

There has been much discussion throughout 2024 about competitors driving unnecessarily slowly during qualifying sessions in order to give themselves space for their hot lap.

This often leads to drivers jostling for space, and has at times seen drivers racing each other into a particular corner to try and get ahead of their rivals before the start of a hot lap.

New race director Rui Marques has attempted to stop this from happening at the Qatar GP, by implementing a minimum lap time that all drivers must adhere to or risk being given a penalty.

In an official FIA document, Marques revealed: "In order to ensure that cars are not driven unnecessarily slowly on any laps during and after the end of sprint qualifying, qualifying or during reconnaissance lap(s) when the pit exit is opened for the sprint or the race, drivers must stay below 1:40.0 between the safety car lines shown on the pit lane drawing."

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