After the incidents involving Red Bull and Williams in the last two races, the teams have requested changes to the regulations regarding the assembly of the third chassis. In fact, according to the sporting code, there is a list of elements that can be mounted on the survival cell before it is classified as a third car. Additionally, the mechanics have predetermined time slots in which they can work, but the time available to complete the assembly before the start of the race has proven to be insufficient, necessitating a breach of the regulations.
Qatar also brought little satisfaction for Sergio Perez, who finished the Lusail stage with only one point. During the sprint race, he was inadvertently involved in a collision with Esteban Ocon and Nico Hulkenberg, damaging the chassis of his RB19, which required replacement to participate in the Sunday race.
However, to replace the chassis, the mechanics violated the sporting regulations because the assembly went beyond the survival cell without the supervision of the FIA and before a certain time period in which the mechanics could actually work on the car. For these reasons, the technical delegates considered the new chassis as a third car, which led to him starting from the pit lane, significantly complicating his race.
However, Red Bull’s Team Principal believes that the FIA and Formula 1 should review the regulations to find a more reasonable solution to facilitate chassis replacement in special cases like Perez’s, where it was necessary to intervene between Saturday and Sunday to allow the Mexican to participate in the race.
“I think it’s something that team managers need to consider, something more reasonable, because it’s something that happened for two consecutive weeks, first with Williams and now with us, it was far from ideal,” explained Christian Horner. He believed that it would have been impossible to complete the car’s reconstruction for the race while adhering to all the constraints imposed by the regulations regarding the hours when work on the car is allowed.
“With the structural damage from the accident and so on, it would have been impossible… [while adhering to the regulations]. The mechanics did a phenomenal job turning everything around,” added the Team Principal of the Milton Keynes team. The extent of the work was so extensive that it required the help of mechanics who generally work on Max Verstappen‘s car, including the day the Dutchman won his third world title.
During his speech, Horner also referred to the case involving Williams two weeks before the Qatar event when, following Logan Sargeant’s accident in qualifying, the team had to change the chassis to participate in the race. In that case as well, however, the mechanics broke the regulations because they installed some elements before the regulation-allowed time, resulting in a penalty of starting from the pit lane.
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However, unlike Perez, Sargeant also received a 10-second penalty before the Japanese Grand Prix for modifying the specifications of the parts fitted to his car compared to those used in qualifying, which led the stewards to impose an additional penalty.
In the case of Williams, the mechanics arrived at the track very early in the morning, around six o’clock, immediately compiling a list of the necessary work to complete the car’s repairs. However, since they began assembling the chassis before the five-hour signal that precedes the start of the race, and also fitted elements for which a survival cell is defined as a car, the stewards could only impose the pit lane start as a penalty.
However, after the race, while admitting the team’s mistake, James Vowles also pointed out that the regulations needed to be revised to give the teams more flexibility: “The regulation probably needs to be rewritten because it’s not worded correctly. If there had been the sprint race, this issue of having a maximum number of chassis, we probably wouldn’t have had enough time to assemble the car. We should modify the regulation.”
What can be mounted on the new chassis
Firstly, Article 27.1 of the sporting code states that “each competitor may not have more than two (2) cars available for use at any time during a Competition.” In addition, Article 27.2 specifies what can be mounted on the survival cell without effectively creating a third car:
components that exist entirely or partially within the survival cell, excluding the battery, as defined in Article 5.1.8 of the Technical Regulations;
components of the front suspension axle, as defined in Article 10.1.1 of the Technical Regulations;
steering elements as listed in Article 10.5 of the Technical Regulations;
side impact structures;
any component permanently connected to the survival cell;
any component fastened to the survival cell (such as engine mounts).
If the mechanics were to mount any element on the survival cell different from those listed above, it would effectively create a third car, thereby violating the regulations in specific situations.
Hours when mechanics can work
Regarding the Red Bull case, the mechanics had actually started working on the car on the same evening the sprint race was held, thus violating Article 40.6 of the sporting regulations, which stipulates that the cars must be covered and ready for the FIA seals to be applied within two hours of the conclusion of qualifying and/or the sprint race, where applicable.
“Within two (2) hours of the end of the qualifying session and sprint session (if applicable), all cars used during each session (or intended to be used but that have not left the pit lane) must be covered and ready for the application of FIA seals to ensure they remain secure until the next day. For marketing reasons, this deadline can be extended for one car from each competitor for a maximum of two (2) hours, subject to agreement with the Technical Delegate,” reads Article 40.6 of the regulations.
Indeed, after covering all the damaged parts, Red Bull’s mechanics continued to work, starting to assemble the spare chassis. In addition, the mechanics began work on the following day before the five-hour limit before the race, effectively anticipating the schedule, which led to a violation of Article 40.8, which states: “Five (5) hours before the expected start of the formation lap for the race, the seals and covers can be removed, but the cars will remain in parc ferme until the start of the race.”
The differences between the two cases
The difference between the two cases lies mainly in the fact that, after careful analysis, Red Bull did not practically violate the regulations regarding the third car, even though the stewards considered it guilty because the team violated the “spirit” of the regulations, that is, the motivations for which that specific article was created.
“The Sports Commissioners acknowledge that neither Article 27.1 nor Article 27.2 [concerning which elements can be mounted on the car] were violated, as the competitor never had more than two cars available for use simultaneously, as no more than two assemblies comprising a survival cell as defined in Article 12.1 of the Technical Regulations were used at the same time.”
“The Sports Commissioners note that the way Article 27.2 has been interpreted by the competitor in question, while not violating the regulations, may not be entirely in line with the intent of that regulation, and therefore recommend that the matter be discussed and further clarified with the Sporting Advisory Committee,” read the statement in which the stewards had penalized Perez, suggesting that the issue be clarified during the Sporting Advisory Committee to dispel any doubts about what was possible or not.
In the case of Williams, on the other hand, the mechanics had effectively violated both Article 27.1 (having more than two cars available during the event) and Article 27.2 by installing some elements not allowed before the scheduled time.
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