The FIA has issued a statement after what it called the "most productive meeting" with F1 drivers over overtaking guidelines.
F1's overtaking rules were thrust into the spotlight after controversial incidents involving then-title contenders Max Verstappen and Lando Norris in the United States and Mexico City Grands Prix.
Norris received a five-second time penalty, losing his podium to Verstappen, after being adjudged by stewards to have overtaken Verstappen off the track at Turn 12 , but after being wide off the track by Verstappen.
McLaren lodged a right of review, but this was rejected by the stewards, with a further incident coming that weekend in Mexico, where Norris again attempted to pass around the outside, but was forced off by Verstappen at Turn 4. This incident and another moments later at Turn 7 earned Verstappen a total of 20 seconds of time penalties and two penalty points.
Following the incident in the United States, a meeting was fixed for the Qatar weekend to fix the racing rules, including when drivers must yield if they are on the inside or outside approaching a corner.
GPDA chairman George Russell labelled proposed changes as "not rocket science", and although the details were not released in the FIA statement, collaboration between the governing body and drivers was praised.
However, RacingNews365 understands that the exact wording of the new guidelines is still being discussed, with a final version to be settled upon in time for the 2025 season.
Should any incidents similar to Austin arise in Qatar or Abu Dhabu, it is understood that the discussions held on Thursday would be used as a framework to help form any stewards decision.
The meeting was hosted by chairman of the stewards Garry Connelly, with stewards, drivers, team representatives and race director Rui Marques in attendance.
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FIA statement on overtaking guidelines in full
"The meeting was the most productive one we've [ever] attended," said Connelly.
"The drivers were fantastic with their input. Very constructive. There was not one negative comment. There was no finger-pointing. It was very inspiring to see the world's best drivers, communicating clearly and speaking constructively on how we can improve the Driving Standard Guidelines to the benefit of the drivers and to make all of our jobs easier.
"As Stewards, we are not here to inflict pain on drivers. We're here to provide a level playing field. It's not us against the drivers, it's the drivers against the drivers and we're here to make sure everyone gets a fair go.
"We have an open-door policy. The door to the Stewards’ room is always open to any driver who wants to come up and talk to us about a decision that's been taken either in relation to them or in relation to any other driver. We think Thursday’s meeting emphasised that open-door policy.
"The Driving Standard Guidelines are a living document, so every year, as the F1 Stewards we try to meet with the drivers, sporting directors and FIA representatives, to see if we need to tweak the guidelines to use the experience of the last 12 months and see what improvements we can make to ensure consistency. The goal of the guidelines is consistency.”
"As Stewards, if drivers and teams and the FIA agree that they want rules or guidelines to allow more aggressive driving, we'll apply those rules or guidelines. Likewise, if they want stricter driving standards, we'll apply those."
Single-Seater Sporting Director Tim Malyon also discussed how incidents were broken down and discussed during the meeting, including the Verstappen-Norris incident from the United States that sparked the review.
We will always try and facilitate such meetings, because gaining the feedback, the insight of the drivers, is extremely important in allowing us to evolve the guidelines in the right direction," said Malyon.
“We've had some very constructive driver meetings at the last few races, and this was a specific meeting set up to provide the space for that dialogue to continue, so that we can have the open exchange that we need with the drivers in order to be able to evolve the guidelines for next year.
“We typically hold a meeting like that at least once a year, sometimes twice a year, depending on the topics that arise. This year we've timed this meeting following the constructive discussions in Mexico and Austin.
“As the FIA, we work continuously with circuits to evolve in many ways. Obviously, we are working on the safety aspect of circuits. But what that meeting highlighted is that there are a number of considerations on the sporting side, which we can prioritise for circuits going forward.
“As we have done this year, we introduced the gravel traps, starting in Austria, and obviously, with this weekend being perhaps the most obvious with gravel traps added in a number of places. We continue to work with circuits on all topics, but it was very useful in yesterday’s meeting to get insight into the drivers and see how they prioritise the gravel track concept, not only for track limits, but also for managing some of the situations that have arisen with overtaking during the course of the last four or five races.
"In all, there was a commitment to work together to find solutions that work for everyone."
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