So now we have McNish saying that as an experienced Steward, the events of lap 1 make perfect sense and deserve no penalty. He confesses that, yes, they are told to judge lap 1 almost as a free for all, and then he then manages to say that Hamilton "won no advantage" while Verstappen "would have lost two places" by trying to make the corner.
Yes, we need some sort of wall (but not a wall!) that makes using too much track a binary event. Either you did it or you did not. It must punish drivers that do it every time they do it, no matter the circumstances, yet be safe.
And then Just a Fan nailed it:
Just_a_fan wrote:The way to "punish the naughty" but protect the unfortunate, is to have the punishment at the point of rejoining the track.
So developing that idea a bit further, in that corner it could look like this (imagine tarmac or grass everywhere):
The pink area would simply be a layer of very coarse sand, 1mm thick or less, about 20cm wide, with a shiny color applied. It could be contained by a minimal structure, about 2mm tall or so, made of collapsable rubber, just to keep it in place in case of wind or rain.
If a car runs over it, it sticks to the tires in a narrow band, very easy to see but otherwise harmless. Also, the car would leave a mark in the sand.
Essentially I am proposing detecting the infraction with this spirit:
by using this technology:
If you touch the pink sand for whatever reason, your fault or not, you get a 5 second penalty. Corner exit is clean and full of tarmac, so it is safe to take evasive action and it provides space to brake down. Then, if you want to rejoin the track, you are expected to go left or right of the sand trap. There is really no reason a car should be there, ever. If you go around it, you only lose 1-2-3 seconds, it is safe and life and the race continue, but you cannot possibly have gained an advantage.
If you do run over the sand, there might be two reasons: the most likely, you are trying to rejoin as fast as possible. But no, sorry, you did leave the track limits and by doing that you forfeited your right to take a sensible line. Slow down and go around instead (or have your 5 seconds).
In the rare cases where the car really cannot avoid running over the sand, well, your tires turned pink (easy to see!), here is your 5 second penalty.
The main thing its that it is perfectly safe to do so. You carry a bit of sand to the track, it will largely disappear under the texture of the asphalt and it will be removed slowly by passing cars. It will reduce your grip a little bit for a very short period of time. Plus it happens all the time already. It poses no obstacle for the car and it only hinders braking/turning for 20 cm, that after you had a lot of tarmac to do most of it beforehand.
The sand will withstand wind, it will stick even in the rain, it is easy to apply, easy to remove, easy to modify, cheap and can be used at any racing level.
And, from the point of view of gaining an advantage, it is binary, it is obvious and it is non negotiable, just as the walls. Just put it at the track re-entry points instead of at corner exit, where grip = safety.
In this case, it would look like this: Both Hamilton and Rosberg would have picked up a 5 second penalty (and otherwise kept position!):
And both had obvious alternatives that involved losing a bit of time.
Also, note the extra "virtual chicane" before turn 3, very similar to the bollards used for example at Monza, but even safer.
Edit: The term sand trap is perhaps not very fortunate. F1 cars can drive over those things without even blinking. The purpose is not to slow the cars or to trap the cars, just to mark the cars. Sand tags?
In most cases, the majority is below the average.
