GreenBkk Formula 1 | FIA gives stewards more power, impose curfew

FIA gives stewards more power, impose curfew

Formula One stewards will have even more power when it comes to dishing out punishment to drivers in 2011.

In the past race stewards were only allowed to hand out drive-through penalties, 10-second penalties or a drop of any number of grid positions for the following grand prix.

However, from next year they will be able to exclude a driver from the race classification or suspend him from the next grand prix.

Motor sport's governing body has also decided to keep former Formula One drivers on the three-man stewards' panel next season.

The policy of having high-profile ex-drivers on the panel was adopted at the start of the 2010 campaign and it was so successful that it will continue next year.

Damon Hill, Nigel Mansell and Alain Prost were some of the former drivers who assisted the regular stewards this year.

Meanwhile, the FIA will introduce a curfew on team personnel in 2011 to cut down on the amount of extra hours.

The curfew will start from midnight and run until 6am for practice starting 10am on Fridays, and run from 1am to 7am when practice starts at 11am on the Saturday.

Teams, though, will be permitted four exceptions to the rule during the season.

The new rules state: "No team personnel who are associated in any way with the operation of the cars are permitted within the confines of the circuit during two six hour periods which commence ten hours before the scheduled start times of P1 and P3.

"However, each team will be permitted four individual exceptions to the above during a Championship season."

Another change sees the one-gearbox-per-four-races rule changed too five races in 2011 with drivers receiving one penalty-free gearbox change.

"For 2011 only, except during the last Event of the Championship season, each driver will be permitted to use a replacement gearbox without incurring a penalty the first time this becomes necessary during the season. Under such circumstances the replacement gearbox will only be required to complete the remainder of the Event in question," the regulations read.

Credit: PlanetF1.com (www.planetf1.com)