Drivers will be penalised more quickly in the first lap: 'Going to be stricter'

Last year, at the Bahrain Grand Prix, Romain Grosjean collided hard with the wall, causing a huge fireball. To prevent future start crashes, the FIA has taken new measures. Michael Masi will take stricter action against incidents that take place in the opening phase of the race.

"We looked at some feedback and the discussions we had with drivers. There was a feeling that we needed to let them race more, but we need to start taking that back a little bit around the incidents on the first lap," Masi acknowledged in conversation with Motorsport.com. "We will still treat it differently than an incident during another round."

With nineteen cars surrounding a driver, the chance of an incident is always a lot higher and Masi takes that into account as well. "We still take a free position in that, but it won't be as free as last year. After feedback from teams and drivers we have decided that we have to be a bit stricter". So that's what fans will see next season.

"When it's a group of drivers, it's difficult to assign blame. If it's two drivers clashing, there's a chance we'll look at it more quickly and not be so easy on them." The FIA will also be paying more attention to other incidents. "Movement during braking is also something we're going to pay more attention to, that's something we've heard from the drivers several times", Masi explains. We can therefore expect stricter measures from the FIA in the event of on-track incidents next season.