Rosberg under investigation for driving too slowly

2016 British Grand Prix

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Nico Rosberg may face a penalty for driving too slowly during Q1.

The Mercedes driver is under investigation for breaking article 27.5 of the sporting regulations which specifies a maximum time for driving between the pit lane exit and entrance.

Rosberg set two flying laps during Q2 but did a much slower 2’26.444 in between them. This was almost half a minute slower than team mate Lewis Hamilton drove when he backed off.

Safety Car line two is at the pit lane exit and line one is at the pit lane entrance. The maximum permitted time for the drivers to pass between them is one minute and 45 seconds.

The rule, which was introduced in 2010, is intended to prevent drivers lapping too slowly during qualifying to save fuel, creating a potential safety risk.

Article 27.5 of the sporting regulations states:

“At no time may a car be driven unnecessarily slowly, erratically or in a manner which could be deemed potentially dangerous to other drivers or any other person. This will apply whether any such car is being driven on the track, the pit entry or the pit lane.”

“In order to ensure that cars are not driven unnecessarily slowly on in laps during and after the end of qualifying or during reconnaissance laps when the pit exit is opened for the race, drivers must stay below the maximum time set by the FIA between the Safety Car line after the pit exit and Safety Car line before the pit entry.”

“The maximum time will be determined by the race director at each event after the first day of practice but may be amended later in the Event if deemed necessary. The time will normally be based upon 145% of the best dry [first practice or second practice] time.”

2016 British Grand Prix

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    Keith Collantine
    Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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    17 comments on “Rosberg under investigation for driving too slowly”

    1. petebaldwin (@)
      9th July 2016, 15:32

      This is one of the rules that they actually have to follow then? Not one of the others like tyre pressure or track limits….?

      1. Let it go…

        1. petebaldwin (@)
          9th July 2016, 15:48

          Awesome – now I’ve got that song from Frozen stuck in my head. :D

          1. Try the James Bay version @petebaldwin

      2. Well its about Rosberg not Hamilton so ofc they have to follow it. (sarcasm)

    2. Probably no further action because it’s Rosberg.

      1. Yeah, he never gets big penalties despite his sometimes bad driving in the past four years.

      2. That’s very likely actually.

    3. Graham (@guitargraham)
      9th July 2016, 15:41

      bit like speeding. investigation means its a slam dunk penalty as the only evidence needed is the clock

    4. Nico likes to do things the hard way. Can engineers tell drivers during quali to speed up?

    5. now, that’s a bit harsh, I know he was slower than Hamilton, but he wasn’t that slow. Okay terrible joke aside, I would guess it’s either no further action unless he actually got in someones way or just a reprimand, no reason for a grid penalty (unlike his Austria collision)

    6. It’ll be a reprimand I guess provided it didn’t hinder anyone’s else’s lap. That’ll put him equal with Hamilton on 2 reprimands this season and 1 away from a penalty.

    7. No further action on this.

      1. @ultimateuzair FIA are very lean when it comes to Rosberg, Monaco, SPA, Spain, Austria and then this, what a joke.

        1. Is it official that there is no further action then @ultimateuzair @abdelilah ?

    8. Jonathan Parkin
      9th July 2016, 17:36

      I have to say this is a new one on me. I haven’t heard this one before.

      1. It is a bit obscure, though Carlos Sainz Jnr got a five-second penalty for doing it last year in Bahrain during a reconnaissance lap:

        https://www.racefans.net/2015-f1-season/statistics/penalties-index/#inv138

    Comments are closed.