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FIA makes a draconian decision ahead of the Australian Grand Prix

01:12, 07 Mar

Updated: 02:30, 07 Mar

byTim Kraaij

The FIA has made a draconian decision for the Australian Grand Prix. Following complaints from the drivers, it has been decided to reduce the number of ‘straight modes’ starting from the third free practice.

At 10:00 a.m. local time, a message came from the FIA. At 10:30 a.m. local time, Nikolas Tombazis, the Director of Single-Seaters, would hold a press briefing for written media. A reason for this press session was not initially given.

FIA makes a drastic decision

The answer, however, followed quickly. Tombazis announced that the fourth straight mode for the Australian Grand Prix would be removed. The section between Turn 6 and Turn 9 will therefore be driven entirely with the front and rear wings closed.

“On most of the circuits these straight modes are fairly straightforward. There are three or four circuits in the year, one of which is Melbourne, unfortunately. They also include some zones which are fairly curved, as happens on the fourth straight mode zone here in Melbourne between corners eight and nine.”

“So we had a meeting yesterday (Friday) with the drivers and some expressed that they're concerned that the downforce in that area was a bit too low, especially if they were fighting for position with other cars. They felt they could risk losing control of the car in such conditions.”

Dissatisfaction among Formula 1 teams

The FIA indicated that Friday was the first time real data was gathered on how much downforce was actually being lost. Although there were already question marks before the weekend about using a straight mode in a gentle curve, the recent data has now confirmed this for the FIA. The FIA also did not want to force some teams to modify their cars for the rest of the weekend and therefore decided to keep it consistent for all teams.

“If we have more data from the first two races, we can analyze more and come up with other solutions in the future. However, we do not consider that a realistic scenario for here.”

According to Tombazis, seven of the eleven teams supported this plan, but there are also plenty of opponents. During the meeting, the FIA executive’s phone rang several times, prompting him to joke that it was probably those teams calling.

Inquiries by GPblog reveal that there are indeed teams dissatisfied with the FIA’s decision. Due to a few driver complaints, all the work from Friday has now been undone and the setup has to be completely overhauled.

FIA retracts draconian decision

The FIA has made a bizarre U-turn. Just an hour after deciding to remove the fourth DRS zone for the Australian Grand Prix, the decision has already been reversed.

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The FIA statement read: "Following the feedback received in the last hour from Teams and Drivers, and additional analysis contributed by Teams, the decision to remove Straight Mode zone #4 for Albert Park is rescinded.

"For the avoidance of doubt, this amendment is effective immediately, and Straight Mode activation Zone 4 will be in used in FP3.

"Further evaluation will take place during and after FP3."