2014 Chinese Grand Prix - Shanghai

[CBeck113]

Doesn't the rule say your lap's invalid if you've put all 4 wheels off the track(white lines) ?

Precisely. Meaning if you cut it just the correct amount - and the front of the car rejoins the track before the rear leaves the track confines - then you're in the green.

The rules state that it's invalid when you gain an advantage by leaving the track with all four wheels - but is Charlie then the judge, or the marshalls?

[Emerson.F]

Midweek report from Sky.

http://fiftybuckss.wordpress.com/2014/0 ... ort-china/

[iotar__]

http://www.canalplus.fr/c-sport/c-formu ... id=1058881 - excellent video of the race from onboards.

Very cool. Rosberg's camera - perfect angle to judge Alonso-Massa. Alonso knew what he was doing, Maldonado would have got 10 s penalty for that - causing a collision and dangerous driving. Rosberg - nervous at the start.
BTW: FI radio: "We’re after 20 metres ( ) lift and coast in turn 14 only."

[Mandrake]

Doesn't the rule say your lap's invalid if you've put all 4 wheels off the track(white lines) ?

That's supposed to be the rule, but as you can see its not always enforced...

There are many places on circuits where Charlie allows to run wide. That's why it is most of the times not enforced.

In the example shown before by Vettel he lost way more time by running on that carpet than he would have lost by braking more to make the turn. You cannot imagine how slippery that carpet is....

[SiLo]

Doesn't the rule say your lap's invalid if you've put all 4 wheels off the track(white lines) ?

That's supposed to be the rule, but as you can see its not always enforced...

There are many places on circuits where Charlie allows to run wide. That's why it is most of the times not enforced.

In the example shown before by Vettel he lost way more time by running on that carpet than he would have lost by braking more to make the turn. You cannot imagine how slippery that carpet is....

Yes but the point is that was his fastest lap (I think?) So it doesn't matter if he COULD have been faster if he made the turn.

[Juzh]

Yes but the point is that was his fastest lap (I think?) So it doesn't matter if he COULD have been faster if he made the turn.

And?

[Mandrake]

If there was a wall, he would have crashed. Since there was not a wall, he made a worse lap time than possible. If he still qualified so what? Punishment would be appropriate if he cut a corner short and went actually faster than on normal road. This does not apply here, case closed.

[NathanOlder]

I think that if he set his best time of that session, the time should be taken away. Its difficult to prove if it slowed him down or not. (Lets say that was his best lap of that session) the fact would be, he set his best lap and exceeded track limits. So the time should be removed. Still, it doesn't matter now, but I feel track limits should be punished more often. Like Romain last year in Hungary. Harsh, but if its always punished then the drivers know where they stand.

[SiLo]

If there was a wall, he would have crashed. Since there was not a wall, he made a worse lap time than possible. If he still qualified so what? Punishment would be appropriate if he cut a corner short and went actually faster than on normal road. This does not apply here, case closed.

Wrong, he set his fastest lap whilst going off track, it doesn't matter than he might have gone faster had he taken the corner correctly. Put simply, he exceeded track limits and set a faster lap. Thus he should be punished, if there was a wall there, crashing would be his punishment. If there was a gravel trap, being hugely inconvenienced or beached would be his punishment.

As it was, he ran off the track because it was the fastest method of keeping the car pointing in the right direction and then set his fastest lap.

I'm getting tired of seeing people not get punished for this but getting punished during the race. Overtaking someone is gaining an advantage so they get punished, but so is going faster on a quail lap. They really need to sort this out because its kind of irritating.

[Mandrake]

I'm getting tired of seeing people not get punished for this but getting punished during the race. Overtaking someone is gaining an advantage so they get punished, but so is going faster on a quail lap. They really need to sort this out because its kind of irritating.

I got tired in Bahrain when nobody was punished for forcing people off the race track. This ruined racing a lot more since legit overtaking possibilities were negated that way, repeatedly.

In F1 drivers have never been punished for taking longer routes if it made them slower. In AbuDhabi before the final turn it makes you faster, in Hungary after the left kink (Turn 4 or 5 that is) it does so too, but at China it does not, especially in the wet. Clean lap > Running wide over wet carpet >> Running wide into gravel trap >>>>>>>>Running wide into wall.

[Ninners]

It's like a yellow flag scenario in my view, you don't slow completely but you slow enough to show you have slowed for the yellows and you don't improve your sector. If you don't go faster in the sector then there's no point taking the time away because it's not your best sector which shows he didn't gain an advantage. Also bear in mind the stewards have access to the mini sectors which are not on the timing screens so they can see if a driver has gained an advantage or not.