MoxVlog

Headlines from the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weekend featured familiar characters. Red Bull dominated again – Sergio Perez won, and Max Verstappen powered to a second-place finish. Ferrari dealt with more problems – Charles Leclerc’s grid penalty and tire degradation issues. And penalty confusion surrounded Fernando Alonso and threatened his 100th F1 podium.

Advertisement

But one note that largely slipped through the cracks is that rookie Logan Sargeant needed permission to compete in the race after breaking the 107% rule. Basically, Sargeant didn’t set a fast enough qualifying time in Q1 to even qualify for the race! The 22-year-old is the first American on the grid since 2015, and he’s competing for Williams, one of F1’s legacy teams, placing him in a reasonably bright spotlight.

So what exactly happened that prompted Williams to request the stewards allow the rookie to race? Let’s look at what happened and why this rule arose again.

Sargeant’s qualifying run

A driver must record a time within 107% of the fastest Q1 lap time during the first qualifying session to compete in the race. Verstappen went the quickest during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix first qualifying session with a 1:28.761 lap time, which placed the 107% mark at 1:34.974. Sargeant, though, failed to record a time within that range after the FIA penalized and deleted one of his laps.

According to the FIA, Sargeant “crossed the painted area between the Pit Entry and the track.” So his time of 1:29.721, which would’ve sent him to Q2, was deleted. He wasn’t the only driver who had a time deleted for that reason, though, as both Haas drivers and Lewis Hamilton also crossed that area.

Because Sargeant needed to record a lap time within 107% of the fastest Q1 time, it was up to the stewards whether he could compete on Sunday. There are exceptions to this rule, such as if there’s severe weather. In Sargeant’s case, he was granted permission to compete because he “set satisfactory times in practice.” For reference, here are those times:

• First practice — 1:31.922
• Second practice — 1:30.959
• Third practice — 1:30.035

Sargeant knew that this mistake was on him, adding that this part of the track was mentioned in the event notes. The FIA race director stated in the pre-race event notes: “The white lines define the track edges. During qualifying and the race, each time a driver fails to negotiate [within] the track limits, this will result in that lap time being invalidated by the stewards.” However, there was a reason why this deletion was “a bit frustrating” for the American driver.

Advertisement

“But I feel like we need to do a better job of policing it through the free practices to give us a reference. I pretty much did exactly what I’ve done all weekend, and it gets deleted,” he said.

History of the 107% rule

This was first introduced in 1996, dropped in 2002, and returned during the 2011 season. This rule aimed to prevent cars that were too slow from competing out of safety concerns. If you’ve ever driven on a highway, you’ve likely seen a sports car zip past at 95 mph. But the driver in the far right lane clocking 40 mph can be just as dangerous.

Three new teams joined in 2010, and those in the back of the grid routinely struggled with pace, drawing plenty of complaints over the radio from the fastest drivers. This led to the rule being reintroduced in 2011.

The rule resurfaced in Hungary in 2016 and was debated when 11 of the 22 drivers failed to record a time within 107% of the fastest Q1 car. Granted, this was a rain-soaked, red flag-filled qualifying session, which prompted the stewards to make the exception, and the grid remained unchanged. Multiple notable names could’ve been impacted by that 2016 qualifying session that today’s fans will recognize: Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo, Kevin Magnussen, Nico Hülkenberg, Sergio Pérez, and Valtteri Bottas.

When looking back at Jeddah and Bahrain, track limits have been a sticky issue, with multiple drivers having their lap times deleted. But the rule is crystal clear now after the FIA took a straightforward approach when defining track limits — it’s the white line. This is included in the race director’s pre-event notes for each grand prix, creating a reminder of the interpretation. While Sargeant made a mistake, the rookie could have a point about the need for track limit violations to be raised during free practice.

ncG1vNJzZmismJqutbTLnquim16YvK57k2xsa25jbnxzfJFsZmlrX2eEcH2PcGSpnaKYsq%2FAjKuspZ1dm7yzudSlmGannpp8