The win will still not run if the red lights come on.
The International Automobile Federation (FIA) announced just over a week ago that it had made changes to the hybrid rules of the World Rally Championship.
As a result of the rule change, a driver who has to be suspended due to a fault in the hybrid unit starting from the April World Cup in Croatia will receive a two-minute time penalty per special test. Normally, in interruptions, the fine has been ten minutes per fast.
Hybrid units surfaced in the debate after the Swedish World Rally Championship in February, with Hyundain Ott Tänak had to stop when the unit showed a red light. The hybrid units are supplied by German Compact Dynamics to all teams, so the stables have very little opportunity to influence their reliability.
In Sweden, too, Toyota Elfyn Evansin the interruption was eventually caused by a hybrid failure, although the Welshman had already lost time as a result of the expulsion.
– We took the decision with some positive feelings. After all, it was pretty tough when, for example, Tänak had a race when the red lights came on. The fact is that the situation does not change in the sense that if the lights come on, you will no longer be racing for victory. The game is clear at that point, Toyota team manager Jari-Matti Latvala comments on the rule change to Iltalehti.
– Now, however, there is a possibility that if the interruption happens even if there are two special stages before the end of the day, you will not receive a fine of more than four minutes. There are still opportunities to take some points. In a way, the whole race doesn’t go all the way.
The FIA could be blue-eyed
Jari-Matti Latvala understood Ott Tänak’s annoyance. DPPI / Nikos Katikis / LiveMedia / Shutterstock
Toyota and, of course, Hyundai also demanded that the FIA violate the hybrid rules due to the interruptions. According to Latvala, it was possible that the time fine would have been even lower.
– It mainly discussed whether the time penalty is a minute or two. Apparently now two minutes was perceived as a better solution.
Today, however, the new rule no longer warms up for the Swedish rally. Latvala feels that the FIA may have been a little too blue-eyed about the pitfalls of new technology.
– It would have been fairer if the rule had been the same from the beginning of the season. The FIA may have been a little too confident that there will be no problems with hybrid units. Although the same type of solutions have been used in e-formulas and good results have been obtained, Latvala sums up under very different conditions.
– There is frost and heat in the rally, jumps and bounces as well as many kinds of vibrations. The number of tests was also only half a year. Compared to that, the credit was a little too hard. Most importantly, however, the matter has now been addressed.