STUART CODLING
“Speed bumps garlanded Mexico track” ”
As painful and persistent as Montezuma’s Revenge and twice as tedious, the debate over the whys and wherefores of track limits – kicked off by Max Verstappen’s sensational but ultimately disallowed pass on Kimi Raikkonen on the last lap of the US Grand Prix – rumbled on to Mexico.
Max had correctly pointed out that plenty of other drivers had strayed beyond the boundaries and gone unpunished, then unwisely suggested that his penalty arose from some unspecified personal grudge that a particular FIA steward holds against him.
Pressed on that matter, Max declined to name the steward in question, but he’d already said enough for anyone with access to past race records to jigsaw-identify the supposed culprit. The FIA, naturally, demanded an apology. Max refused.
I nursed a hope that some strong-arm tactics might come in to play, along the lines of Kevin Kline dangling John Cleese out of a window by his ankles in the classic comedy A Fish Called Wanda. But, alas, Max denied us this sight by abasing himself in a thoroughly modern way, via Instagram. If only this technology had been available in the 16th century, Henry VIII and the Pope might have been able to clear up their little misunderstanding.
Still the matter refused to lie, for if drivers can go off-track and rejoin without penalty – damage-wise or time-wise – or, worse still, gain an advantage, then surely they will. Sundry paddock wise owls offered their thoughts, including Niki Lauda, who ventured in the aftermath of Austin that one effective deterrent to corner-cutting would be to “build a wall there”. Walls being a sensitive subject in these parts, others chose their words more carefully…
Perhaps the FIA feared that the thin air at altitude in the Mexican capital would cause a collective rush of blood to the head, because for this year the first-corner complex at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez had been garlanded with speed bumps in a newly asphalted run-off area. This was where Lewis Hamilton went straight on at the start of last year’s race and then rejoined in the lead, without penalty, whereas Verstappen was punished for taking a similar trajectory while defending against Sebastian Vettel late in the race.
“For safety reasons,” wrote FIA race director Charlie Whiting, “any driver who either passes to the left of or runs over the orange kerb sections on the driver’s left between Turns 1 and 2, or who passes to the left of the bollard on the apex of Turn 2, must rejoin the track by driving around the end of the orange kerb sections on the driver’s left between Turns 2 and 3.”
Given the alleged inability of men to ask for or listen to directions, I hope for everybody’s sake that Charlie drew them a map. Where did the romance of motor racing go?
The Amdtuning.com team has confirmed that it will return to the British Touring Car Championship next season with its brace of Audi S3 cars.
The Essex crew ran Ollie Jackson and Ant Whorton-eales this season and was 14th in the teams’ standings. Both drivers led a race, and the team is in talks with them about a seat next year, along with other potential entrants.
Team boss Shaun Hollamby said: “We made huge steps forward over the course of 2017 and thanks to Ollie and Ant, ended the season with our best points haul and the strongest package we have ever had in the series.
“It is important for us to now capitalise on the hard work that has gone into the Audi in order to maximise our chances of success on track during 2018.
“We are keen to strengthen the engineering side of the team to build on the progress we have made so far, and are already in discussions with drivers as we look to put together the strongest pairing we can to fight for the Independents’ titles.”