Alpine demands change to “draconian” F1 grid box regulations
Alpine F1 team challenges "draconian" grid box rules after penalties, requests rethink of policy, and execution after a simple error by drivers parking their cars.
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Cars parked on the starting grid at Jeddah (Credits: ESPN Press Room)
Alan Permane, Alpine’s sports director, has asked for a reassessment of F1’s grid box rules after Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso were fined for starting their vehicles too much to one side of their grid boxes. The penalties were predicated on a new addendum to the 2022 International Sports Code, which was later incorporated into the 2023 FIA Sporting Regulations.
Permane told reporters that the present restrictions were overly stringent and that there was no precise rule governing the width of grid boxes. According to him, drivers’ sight is limited as they approach their grid locations, making it simple to be a bit too far to the left or right.
“I think what seems a little bit draconian is this new regulation of where the car has got to stop on the grid box,” said Permane. “No one is getting an advantage from being 10 centimetres over on one side or the other side. I don’t quite really see why.”
F1 Sporting Rules in question after drivers face penalties for minor miscalculations
The new regulation, added to the International Sporting Code, states that “a car must be stationary at its allocated grid box with no part of the contact patch of its front tyres outside of the lines (front and sides) at the time of the start signal.” This clause was also included in the FIA Sporting Rules for 2023, which explains why the issue has received more attention this season.
“And they’re free to paint the grid boxes as wide as they want, there doesn’t seem to be regulation for that. I don’t know if that’ll be reviewed, but giving people penalties for having their wheels over in a car where the drivers can’t see those lines – they can see them as they come up and then as they get close to them, they just disappear – it feels harsh, it feels unnecessary.”
Permane’s remarks came after Esteban Ocon was penalized in Bahrain and Fernando Alonso in Saudi Arabia for the same offense. Both drivers were found to have parked their vehicles too much to one side of their grid boxes before the start, and both got penalties as a result. Both the drivers were penalized for not serving their penalty correctly, but Fernando’s ultimately revoked after a drama.
He added that there was no regulation regarding the width of the grid boxes and that it was easy for drivers to misjudge their position due to limited visibility. “Esteban today, he’s been concentrating on it, of course, all week. He said he got to the grid today, and he had no idea where he was. He said you cannot see, you don’t know at all. It’s a strange one.”
The sporting director expects the subject to be discussed in the next meeting of F1’s sporting advisory committee. “I’m sure we will; we’ve got a meeting later this week, we can bring it up.” The new rule looks to be doing more harm than good, penalizing drivers for minor miscalculations when they cannot see the lines well. Permane’s request for a review of the policy and its execution will fuel some discussions with the authorities, and it is to be seen how they handle it and if other teams will join Alpine.
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