F1 News: FIA Expected To Block Other Teams From Repeating Sergio Perez DNF Re-Start In Future

The FIA is keen to address the loophole that allowed Red Bull to send Sergio Perez back onto the track after his retirement, only to call him back after he had served his punishment. Red Bull took advantage of the loophole which saw Perez DNF twice.

Suzuka could easily go down as one of the worst races Perez has had in his F1 career. He first collided with Lewis Hamilton on the opening lap before returning to the pit lane. When he received a second chance, he crashed with Haas driver Kevin Magnussen.

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The Mexican driver attracted two separate five-second penalties. He was ordered by his team to retire the car on lap 15, after the incident with Magnussen. However, a clever Red Bull strategy sent him back onto the track after 26 laps so that Perez could serve his second five-second penalty to prevent the penalty from being carried forward to the Qatar Grand Prix in the form of a grid drop.

After serving the penalty, Perez was ordered to retire again by his team on lap 43. Do keep in mind that the drama that unfolded was done after seeking permission from the FIA. However, Sky F1 reporter Ted Kravitz reported that the FIA is keen to address the DNF restart loophole that Red Bull took advantage of. He said:

“He [Perez] was a DNF, then he was not, then he was a DNF again.

"He clashed with Hamilton at the start, had to pit under the Safety Car for a new nose. He served one penalty but not all of them. He overtook under Safety Car and got a five-second penalty, then he hit Magnussen and had another pitstop.

"They stopped him for seven or eight laps then realised that there is a loophole in the rules that means… the rule says: “The stewards may impose a grid penalty at the next race if you don’t serve your five-second penalty for certain infringements.

"'May’ doesn’t mean ‘will’.

"Jonathan Wheatley [Red Bull sporting director] and the team were thinking that it’s possible, and maybe likely, that the stewards will impose a grid penalty at the next race if they haven’t served their penalty.

"They saw that loophole. They asked the FIA if they agreed that, if they rejoined the race and served the penalty that it would be cleared up. The FIA said yes, so they did it, and it worked.

"I think Checo was already in his jeans, having an ice cream!

"I can tell you that the FIA, after seeing this loophole, are minded to close it off quite quickly for the next race.

"To say that, for certain infringements if a penalty has not been served, it must be a grid penalty at the next race.

"They won’t let Red Bull get away with gaming the rules. It was clever, don’t get me wrong! Really clever. If I was the team manager I’d say ‘definitely do it!’

"It was great but the FIA, apparently, aren’t too happy about it."

However, a report from The Mirror suggests that while the governing body would look into the loophole, it won't be in a hurry to change the rules. It said:

"Mirror Sport understands, however, that the FIA will not be rushing into making any rule changes to stop teams from pulling similar stunts in the near future. Not least because, though it has happened before, such a turn of events is rare in F1.

"The FIA always analyses such incidents and decisions after every race, and that consideration plays a role in deciding any tweaks made to the sporting regulations. And it will be taking a closer look at Red Bull's actions and the wording of the rules which allowed for the loophole that the team used.

"But the governing body is always mindful that, by making swift changes to rules to fix one problem, it can often create several others. So this loophole may well be closed off in the future, but there will be no rush from F1 lawmakers to do so."