After the controversy born during the first two Grands Prix of the season with the penalties inflicted on Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso, the places on the starting grid of the Australian GP will be widened by 20 centimeters.
Drivers will have more room to position themselves on the starting grid at Melbourne’s Albert Park circuit this Sunday! The International Automobile Federation announced on Friday that the places on the starting grid will be widened by 20 centimeters, from 2.50m to 2.70m wide and that a vertical line will be painted in the middle to help drivers to better place themselves on the starting grid. And if this measure proves effective, then it will be extended to the next Grand Prix of the season.
This decision follows the controversies born during the first two Grands Prix of the season, in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, where Esteban Ocon (Alpine) and Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) had received penalties because they were badly positioned at the start, even if they hadn’t taken advantage of it. The Spanish driver was also questioned on this subject during the day’s press conference: ” I don’t think the painted line is going to help, because when you get to the grid, you’re looking to the sides, not the front. But 20 centimeters can help I guess. There are circuits, like Monaco or Imola, where you start a little sideways, because if you go straight, you can crash. We will have to see how the penalties will be applied to these races.
Gasly: ”One of the most stressful moments of the race”
Also questioned on the subject, Pierre Gasly (Alpine) admitted that this moment of placement before the start was “one of the most stressful in the race”. “Thanks to the 20 centimeter widening, it will be a little easier for us, because visibility from inside the car is obviously very limited. »
Same story on the side of rookie Logan Sargeant (Williams): “ I come from Formula 2 and the first thing I noticed in F1 when arriving on the grid is that you can’t see anything, you have to take marks on the wall on the right or on the left. I am not surprised that some are having difficulty. » Will enlargement help? Answer Sunday at 7:00 a.m. French time!