F1 News
Too late for Raikkonen: Pitlane starts on free choice of tyre in 2020
- Nicolás Quarles van Ufford
During the Italian Grand Prix, Kimi Raikkonen got a very odd penalty, with the Finn serving a stop-and-go penalty for starting on different tyres from which he qualified on, even though he started from the pitlane. The FIA have now announced this won't happen again in 2020.
The regulations for the upcoming season have been made public, and the rules on what tyres you are allowed to start races on have been tweaked.
In Raikkonen's case, he had made Q3 at Monza, so in normal circumstances, he should've started on the soft tyre he used in Q2. However, the 2007 champion had a massive shunt in Q3. The penalties for the new parts on his car meant he had to start from the pitlane. He did so on fresh tyres rather than the used ones from Q2, and he got a stop-and-go penalty for it.
From 2020 onwards, a driver who starts from the pitlane will have free choice of tyre, no matter where they originally qualified.
For Raikkonen, who finished the Italian Grand Prix 15th, the rule change has come way too late.
Other technical rule changes include the amount of fuel allowed outside of the survival cell. Where it was at two litres before (besides the 110 kilos of fuel), it has decreased to 0.25 litres now.
Because there are no testing days next year where young drivers can get mileage in an F1 car, the FIA has now also allowed drivers without a full super licence to drive Free Practice sessions on Friday. The drivers will need to have 25 super licence points.