The new rule is working, drivers are no longer causing a major blockade in the final sector but are driving to a delta calculated to get them to the 2nd safety car line on or below the required time as set by the race director, however whilst keeping to their delta they occasionally have to slow a little to let a faster car through, so as not to impede them by being on a corner apex etc., which results in them going over the maximum permitted time allowed.
See below for the official stewards decision today
Decision No further action.
Reason The Stewards thoroughly reviewed Marshalling/Positioning data, timing data, on-
board cameras and CCTV cameras for every incident.
All drivers concerned stayed at or above speeds necessary to stay below 1:56.0
around the vast majority of the circuit. However, in all cases the Stewards
determined that the drivers took appropriate actions to not impede other drivers,
and in all cases they either slowed down significantly to allow other drivers to pass
while giving those drivers a clear track or otherwise drove in a sensible manner to
avoid any potentially dangerous incidents on track. The Stewards therefore
determine that all drivers concerned did not drive “unnecessarily slowly”, and that
evidently the reason they were above the maximum time was due to their
appropriate actions and take no further action.
The Stewards note that the intention of the delta time regulation is to reduce the
chance of dangerous impeding incidents on track. This intention is taken into
account when investigating such incidents and the Stewards acknowledge that the
regulation is working well for this purpose. However, all teams and drivers are
reminded that the latitude extended in these particular incidents cannot be used as
a general excuse for not complying with the delta time requirement.