Answering some key questions after the European GP...
Wednesday 22 June 2016 12:36, UK
F1's restrictions on radio communications proved the European GP's dominant talking point, after Mercedes and Ferrari were unable to tell their drivers how to counter engine setting problems - despite the teams knowing the answers.
After a series of exasperated radio messages from Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen, Sky F1's Martin Brundle suggested the "radio ban has gone too far" and several drivers have called for a rethink by the sport's governing body, the FIA.
With the debate swirling, we look at some of the key questions being asked after Sunday's Baku race...
Why couldn't the Mercedes and Ferrari pitwalls intervene?
New-for-2016 restrictions on radio communications between engineers and the cockpit forbid teams from talking drivers through changes to car settings.
Why did F1 clamp down on radio messages?
Ever-tightening radio restrictions are nothing new in F1 - the process began back in 2014 with a mid-season clarification of the regulations.
Following complaints from fans that drivers were being 'coached' how to drive their increasingly complex cars by their engineers when out on track, the FIA has sought ways to enforce a stricter interpretation of the rule which states "the driver must drive the car alone and unaided".
Speaking on the eve of the new season, FIA race director Charlie Whiting said: "What we're trying to do is to make sure the driver is driving the car on his own, that he's not being told how to drive the car. Simple as that, really."
Stricter guidelines for 2016 followed.
So what can and can't be said?
The FIA released a list of 24 types of radio messages which were still allowed to be relayed by the teams to their drivers. However, the majority of these related to straightforward information updates - such as weather, marshalling, race positions and car damage.
Mercedes selected wrong settings
Although the "indication" of a critical problem with the car was still allowed, the ability for teams to talk their drivers through changes to settings to aid performance were no longer legal. Neither was detailed guidance on start procedures once drivers left the pitlane.
What would have happened if Mercedes had told Hamilton what to do?
Toto Wolff confirmed the world champions sought guidance from the FIA during the race over what they were allowed to say to Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, who both experienced problems with an incorrectly programmed engine mode.
While they could tell the drivers there was a problem with the setting, they "were only authorised by the FIA to use very specific phrasing" despite being in the position to resolve it with a "single radio message".
It is not clear what, if any, formal punishment would have followed if Mercedes had contravened the FIA's advice, but Whiting previously indicated it would be left up to the stewards' discretion - with a time penalty one potential sanction.
"I think it would depend on the level of the breach," he said in March. "If it was a simple one, I think we would let them get away with a warning - at this stage [the first race], at least.
"If it were slightly more serious, the stewards might consider a reprimand, but if they were to do something which really helped the driver do something he should be doing himself then I suspect a time penalty might be more appropriate."
It is believed Sauber received a warning for a minor radio transgression earlier in the season.
Why did it take Hamilton longer to rectify the problem?
Both Mercedes drivers experienced the problematic engine mode during Sunday's race, but there was a logical reason why it took Hamilton longer than Rosberg to rectify it.
With the team expecting different types of race for their two drivers - Hamilton needed to overtake cars from 10th whereas the pole-sitting Rosberg was likely to lead from the front - the two drivers' power units were given different race modes.
Hamilton was in the incorrectly-set configuration from the start and began noticing there was a problem with his hybrid power de-rating - not producing the maximum electrical deployment - several laps into the race. Rosberg only switched into the problematic mode mid-way through.
With Mercedes able to tell the drivers there was a problem with their current engine settings, Rosberg, having only just changed into it, was able to more intuitively switch out of it within a lap. Working out what had gone wrong for Hamilton, who had been in the same mode since the start, was therefore less obvious.
"I didn't know what the problem was so l didn't know if l had done something to make it not work," explained Hamilton.
"All they could tell me is that there was a switch error of some sort. I was looking at every single switch thinking 'am l being an idiot here? Have l done something wrong?' And l hadn't. I was looking through all these switch positions and there was nothing that looked irregular."
Will the rules be relaxed?
Leading drivers had been critical of the radio clampdown before the season had even begun, so it was little surprise to see a number call for reforms after the events of Sunday.
Sebastian Vettel labelled them a "joke", while Hamilton suggested "maybe the rules need to be looked at again". Fernando Alonso added: "They gave us a spaceship to drive, with the technology we have, and now we have no information available."
Ferrari boss Maurizio Arrivabene said that, from the outside, it would have appeared a "crazy situation" his team could not answer Raikkonen's agitated requests for guidance about his engine settings when they had the information to hand.
His Mercedes counterpart Toto Wolff admitted: "I think we need to look at the rules. This is not me complaining, it is the same for everyone, but we can do two things: either make the cars less complicated, which l don't think we should do, or adjust the rules so that we can communicate with the drivers more when they have a problem."
In mitigation, Sunday was the first time in 2016's eight races the tightened radio restrictions had become a defining talking point, while the type of configuration error Mercedes made in Baku - put down as the result of a "messy Friday practice" - is not one teams routinely make.
The fact drivers can no longer be talked through race-start procedures has also undoubtedly proved a positive in terms of producing more varied getaways.
But, as Brundle has suggested, should a distinction be drawn between driver "coaching" and the optimal running of the most technologically-advanced F1 cars ever? There isn't any suggestion as yet teams will approach the FIA en masse to demand changes, but don't bank on radio silence on this debate just yet...
Don't miss the F1 Report: Baku review on Sky Sports F1 at 8.30pm on Wednesday with Marc Priestley, Kevin Eason and Mark Gallagher
