The scene of mechanics climbing the pit wall debris fences in Formula 1 at the end of a race is a tradition that stretches back years. But after the scenes in Jeddah, FIA Race Director Niels Wittich was forced to issue a reminder to teams of Appendix H, Article 2.3.2 of the FIA International Sporting Code. The regulation in question states: "It is forbidden to climb on pit wall debris fence at any time. Any action by a team breaching this ban will be reported to the stewards.” Red Bull team boss Christian Horner was surprised given the amount of times the team has done it in the past. "I was surprised it was an issue to be honest with you, but I think anything that relates to safety one has to take very seriously," said Horner. "But it's a fairly iconic moment when you see a Grand Prix car finishing a race and its the team celebrating on a fence, and so long as it's done in a manner that is safe… I personally have never seen an issue with it. "It's been a part of Grand Prix racing and we've achieved that 94 times as Red Bull Racing, and not once have we ever had an injury or looked like there being an issue, but you know, if they’re the rules they’re the rules."
No fine for Alonso
McLaren team boss Zak Brown agreed with Horner, saying he is not sure why the FIA has decided to crack down on the tradition. He added: "I'm not exactly sure what sparked the necessity to change it. I'm not aware of an incident. "That being said safety's critically important to all of us and if they feel it's potentially not safe and those are the rules then we'll stick to them." If Aston Martin find themselves on the podium again, Team Principal Mike Krack makes it clear that Fernando Alonso will not pay any fine if the team decides to celebrate. "Fernando will certainly not pay the fine if the team jumps on the fences," he said. "I think it's something that we need to respect if it's a pure safety directive, and if that is the rule, then we will comply with it and if someone doesn't, then we will pay the fine. "I think here it will be quite difficult to climb fences because there are none. It's just glass. So one saved."
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