F1 | New: real-time gaps on steering wheels to manage traffic

On a city track like that of Jeddah, clearly the issue of traffic in qualifying immediately attracted great attention, starting from free practice.

In fact, during the second session on Thursday, Lewis Hamilton was the protagonist of an impediment against Logan Sargeant, who fortunately managed to control the car, revealing a contact or an accident. The Briton from Mercedes was then summoned by the stewards who gave him a formal warning, as often happens with these episodes during free practice.

Precisely to further reduce the risk that a driver may find himself in traffic or be an obstacle to a colleague because he proceeds slowly during a tire cooling lap, the FIA ​​has looked for an alternative solution that is not based solely on the work of the engineers of track.

From the pits, in fact, the engineers have all the data available to warn the drivers in case of traffic behind them, indicating curve by curve an approaching colleague, so they can leave the road without being in the way. However, this is not always the case, as a track engineer may not have understood the situation on the track, may not have noticed a driver on the GPS system, or may be distracted by other communications with engineers in the garage.

The FIA ​​is aware of this, but generally does not consider the lack of communication by an engineer a possible excuse to avoid a sanction, especially if the impediment occurs during qualifying. For this reason, the governing body has added a further tool to the riders to keep an eye on during low speed laps, which could prove very useful in Jeddah.

In fact, on the steering wheels of all drivers, there will be real-time gaps from both the car in front and the one following, so as to be aware of a car approaching either in front or behind them. A novelty desired by the FIA ​​for this season and which already debuted in Bahrain, but which on a city track like that of Saudi Arabia can prove even more effective.

This, clearly, will not completely solve the problem of traffic management, especially considering that Jeddah is full of blind curves where it is difficult to notice an approaching car, but it will provide those in the passenger compartment with an additional tool for traveling safely. safety the route.

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Photo by: Gianluca D'Alessandro

“It's always difficult in Jeddah because of the traffic issue. You can't have everything. Because it's one of the best circuits and the driving is so exhilarating. But you can't see it. It's definitely challenging. Earlier this year the FIA ​​introduced a feature on our steering wheel that shows us the car ahead and the car behind with gaps in real time, which was a big improvement,” George Russell said of the new system.

However, even this innovation is not without some problems, because it is difficult for the driver to realize that a car approaching at high speed is perhaps following a slower colleague, creating a confusing situation. For this reason, the support of the track engineers will also be fundamental, who will have to continue to guide the pilots by providing indications that are as clear as possible to avoid staying on track and creating impeding situations.

“But the fact is that on a slow lap we have two cars behind, and it can happen that a car traveling at 200 miles an hour is 10 seconds behind and passes. I think that's what happened with Lewis [Hamilton] and Sargeant. With one car behind, the system will say there is a driver headed straight behind, but there is no telling who is three or four cars behind him and on a hill. But it's definitely an improvement in terms of safety,” Russell added.