London: Formula One must have a permanent race steward attending all races if a licence penalty points system for drivers is to be introduced next season, according to triple world champion Jackie Stewart.
Formula One teams approved the licence plan at last weekend's Spanish Grand Prix and it now has to be rubber-stamped by the International Automobile Federation (FIA) world motor sport council at a meeting next month. The system will be similar to that familiar to regular motorists, with F1 drivers handed points penalties for infringements which - once 12 are racked up in a year - would lead to a race ban.
Stewart, a pioneer in campaigning for safety improvements in the late 1960s and early 1970s, told Reuters that the governing International Automobile Federation had to ensure any punishments were consistent. "I think it's wrong that the FIA have part-time stewards dealing with safety," he said. "It's not correct to have part-time stewards who have just been brought in from any other country for one or two races," added the Scot.
"There's got to be the same people all of the time so that there's no risk that you are going to have peak and valley judgements that are different. "It's got to be unilateral, with authority, with expertise and that person should be appointed and paid for. If you are putting penalty points in, then you should be judged consistently."...
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09:52 PM, May 15, 2013
Barcelona: Felipe Massa gave Ferrari a boost ahead of qualifying later on Saturday by posting the fastest time in the third and final practice session for the Spanish Grand Prix. The Brazilian driver left it very late in his run to clock a best time of 1 minute, 21.901 seconds in mostly sunny conditions, enough to edge out Lotus' Kimi Raikkonen by .006. Mark Webber was third quickest in his...
04:22 PM, May 11, 2013
London: Paul Di Resta has urged his Force India team to go the extra mile to help him secure his first Formula One podium after another near-miss in Bahrain on Sunday. The Briton equalled his career best with fourth place at Sakhir, leading the race for three laps and tantalisingly close to a top three finish before being caught by Lotus's Romain Grosjean in the closing laps. "We've got to...
01:19 AM, Apr 23, 2013
The Lotus drover Grosjean was ahead of Ferrari pair Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa. ...
10:06 AM, Mar 16, 2013
Button said there was plenty of work to be done at next week's final test in Barcelona after the Briton had less track time than he had hoped for on Thursday. ...
04:57 PM, Feb 22, 2013
The team had to pull out of that 2012 test and return to the factory after Grosjean had done seven laps. ...
09:33 AM, Feb 12, 2013
Lotus have become the first Formula One team to unveil their car for the 2013 season at the team's Enstone base. ...
03:36 PM, Jan 29, 2013
London: The Lotus Formula One team will have an unchanged line-up next season after they announced on Monday that French driver Romain Grosjean will retain his place alongside 2007 champion Kimi Raikkonen. The confirmation came a day after Grosjean won the Race of Champions event in Bangkok, beating Red Bull's triple champion Sebastian Vettel and seven-times world champion Michael Schumacher along the way. "Romain is a great talent and we...
09:02 AM, Dec 18, 2012
Bangkok: Germany, represented by Formula One world champions Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher, won the Race of Champions team crown for the sixth successive year in Bangkok on Saturday. The event, which pits winners from various motorsport series competing in identical cars and being held at the Thai capital's Rajamangala stadium for the first time, saw Germany comfortably beat the French pairing of F1 driver Romain Grosjean and rally driver...
08:56 AM, Dec 16, 2012
London: Formula One's governing body needs to crack down on dangerous behaviour in feeder series like GP2 to improve safety standards in grands prix, according to Austrian Alexander Wurz. A lively debate has been going on in Formula One since inexperienced French driver Romain Grosjean was banned for last weekend's Italian Grand Prix for causing a pile-up in Belgium the previous Sunday. Grosjean will be back for Singapore next week...
12:15 AM, Sep 13, 2012
Spa-Francorchamps: The Belgian Grand Prix crash that got Frenchman Romain Grosjean banned for a race has stoked ongoing debate about cockpit safety in Formula One without providing any clearer solution to the problem. Grosjean's Lotus lifted into the air and skimmed across the front of championship leader Fernando Alonso's Ferrari in the first corner pile-up, wrecking his car but fortunately missing the Spaniard's head. The incident, blamed squarely on Grosjean's...
03:28 PM, Sep 03, 2012
Hockenheim, Germany: Mark Webber, second in the Formula One world championship, has been penalised five starting places for the German Grand Prix after his Red Bull team broke the rules on gearbox changes. "(Webber) did finish the last race in Silverstone and this change was before the five consecutive events expired," said the FIA technical delegate in a statement. "Therefore, this does not comply with...the Formula One sporting regulations." Penalties...
03:49 PM, Jul 21, 2012
Montreal: Ferrari's Felipe Massa raised the possibility on Thursday that he could, against the odds, become Formula One's eighth different winner in a row. The Brazilian, eclipsed by Spain's double world champion Fernando Alonso at the Italian glamour team, has not won a Grand Prix since 2008 and nor has he stood on any step of the podium since 2010. In this most unpredictable of seasons, with an unprecedented seven...
10:53 AM, Jun 22, 2012
Lotus must improve its qualifying performances if it aims to win its first race of the Formula One season, says reigning GP2 champion Romain Grosjean. We need to qualify better, that is not our strength this season but we are working on it, said the Frenchman. If we are able to have a strong weekend from the beginning, we are able to fight for the podium and even for victory,...
11:37 AM, Jun 19, 2012
