Mar.18 (GMM) F1’s radio clampdown will not be ramped up in 2015.
Last year, the FIA introduced a ban on so-called ‘driver coaching’ instructions, but intended to ramp it up even further for 2015 to also make the relaying of technical instructions from the pitwall to the drivers illegal.
Anticipating the ban, many teams upgraded their steering wheels for 2015 to include the new McLaren-supplied large display, so that drivers have access to more real-time technical data.
However, the intended ‘second phase’ of the radio clampdown has in fact been postponed, the Italian publication Autosprint reports.
The report said the powerful ‘Strategy Group’ made the call on the basis that not giving the drivers adequate information over the radio about how to manage their complex machinery could result in damage to the power units.
“The rules will be as they were in 2014,” confirmed F1 race director Charlie Whiting.
“Driver coaching will continue to be prohibited,” he added.