Two F1 team bosses are "angry," claiming that the FIA "is acting inconsistently with the governing of track limits," according to GMM. Just before the summer break, leading team chiefs approached FIA Race Dir Charlie Whiting "to plead for a change of heart, with interpretations of the legal limits of the track having controversially changed from corner to corner, and track to track -- and even day to day -- in recent races." Mercedes Motorsport Dir Toto Wolff "thinks the FIA should stop policing the limits -- the white lines used to mark the racing surface -- altogether." Wolff: "Let them race. It is good for the spectacle and great for the fans. If you start analyzing white lines and whether a driver has put two centimeters of his tire over the marks and his lap time is taken away, nobody understands."
Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner "has a slightly different view, believing that while track limits should be policed, it should at least be done so consistently." Horner "thinks a white line marking the extremities of the track should be strictly policed" (GMM, 8/23).
A BAD START: The PA reported Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton "faces starting the second half of the Formula One season on the backfoot after Mercedes confirmed it is likely he will suffer a grid penalty at the Belgian Grand Prix." The penalty, which would mean Hamilton being demoted at least 10 places on the grid, "has been hanging over the British driver after he encountered a number of engine problems during the opening rounds of the season." And the punishment "could be even greater with additional changes to parts on Hamilton’s engine meaning he could start as far back as last place at Spa-Francorchamps on Sunday" (PA, 8/24).
