RZS10 wrote: ↑20 Apr 2021, 02:08
But would he have been allowed to overtake the moment Max lost control or only when he went off track? Because the time he spent off track was 10 frames at 50fps ... so 0.2s ... hardly enough time to pass anyone
I think Charles would have been allowed from the moment Max lost control. Had Charles reacted to that moment he would have gone past around the time Max was pointing the wrong way and saving his spin and I don't think the stewards could have issue with that since Max pointing the wrong way mostly on the grass is definitely an 'obvious problem'.
This opens a huge can of worms though because of Kimi's penalty. 42.6 says that if you get delayed you have until SC line 1 to get back to the correct position. Since Charles would have restarted the race at that moment and SC line 1 is just after the final corner that would have been impossible for Max. Further even if it was somehow possible there is the possibility that 42.12 would come into play since that governs rolling restarts and there it states that you cannot overtake on track from the time the safety car lights go out (Turn 10 in this case) and the start line.
That puts Max and the stewards in real sticky situation. Arguably if Max could not get back to P1 he should have a 30s penalty like Kimi for violating 42.6. If he gets back to P1 in time he could be hit with a penalty for 42.12 but that might be less severe.
The big question is what would happen if the stewards found the Charles should have held back, he obviously gets a penalty but does Max still get hit with the 42.6 violation. The wording of the Kimi decision seems to suggest the stewards would have no choice in the matter.
Total can of worms and the FIA are very fortunate that Charles did not have the killer instinct in that moment because the aftermath would have been brutal.
