Red Bull took advantage of a loophole in the rule book during the Japanese Grand Prix that allowed Sergio Perez to avoid a grid penalty in the next race. Although the move was clever, the FIA, the governing body, will now put a stop to this in the future. It will examine the methods more thoroughly. This is as per a report from Mirror.
While Max Verstappen put in an exceptional performance, Sergio Perez went through a torrid time at the Japanese GP. Perez retired twice in the same event, a unique occurrence that unfolded due to Red Bull’s exploitation of a regulatory loophole.
Even though Perez’s side of the garage had a disastrous race in Suzuka, Max Verstappen’s victory ensured that they sealed their sixth constructors’ title.
FIA to investigate loophole that Red Bull used
Sergio Perez endured a tough start, crashing twice and incurring a corresponding time penalty within the first 15 laps. But he had only served one penalty before retiring, leaving the other hanging over his head. Failure to meet the time penalty as required by Formula 1 rules could result in a grid penalty in the next race. To eliminate this risk, Red Bull devised a way to get Perez back on the road. This was so that he could serve those penalties, with nothing to lose.
The 33-year-old was out of any contention for points being more than 2o laps down. However, Perez still had a five-second a penalty to serve. Normally, this would turn out to be a grid penalty for the next race.
Red Bull instead opted to serve the penalty by returning the retired driver to the race before bringing him back to the garage for good. The team obtained permission from the FIA to do so because a loophole in the rules allows teams to do just that.
Kravitz: FIA will address the loophole
Ted Kravitz, speaking on his Ted’s Notebook program for Sky Sports, suggested that the FIA would soon address the gap and implement changes for the next race. However, a report from Mirror Sport suggests that the FIA will be in no rush to make rule changes to prevent such incidents in the near future.
According to Mirror Sport, the FIA will scrutinize the incidents surrounding the Japanese Grand Prix and carefully consider the wording of the rules that allowed Red Bull exploit the loophole. The Governing Body is of the view that hasty changes to laws to address one problem can lead to many others.
So while the loophole may finally be closed, the FIA will approach the issue cautiously to avoid any hasty decisions.
