Race director issues clear statement immediately during Bahrain GP

The Bahrain Grand Prix got underway on Sunday afternoon. New race director Niels Wittich announced a clear change prior to the race, writes Adam Cooper on his Twitter channel.

During the first race, expectations are high. Since the teams will be closer together, it seems that a lot of overtaking will be seen. However, this will not always happen in a regulatory way, as Wittich also knows. However, he puts the responsibility on the teams and drivers from now on.

The race director indicated that he no longer puts the choice in the hands of the teams to return a place if it has not been done according to the rules. From now on teams have to judge whether the overtaking action was done in a good way. If they choose not to return the place, the race direction can impose a direct penalty.

A lot happened during the start of the Bahrain GP. Although Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz remained in the top three, plenty happened behind them. Sergio Perez lost his fourth position, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell moved up a couple of spots and Kevin Magnussen made a statement.