I watched this video earlier and I think it is well done.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhRdmmJEeeQ
A few takeaways.
1. It sounds like there has been a general agreement (maybe some type of gentlemen's agreement that is not written in the rules?) in which it has been allowed for the front jack to touch the car when serving a penalty (see more on my thoughts on this below)
2. The argument for the front jack touching is that it "used to guide the car's position into the pit box".
3. Evidence to support AM putting the rear jack in position seems be based upon the current "agreement" that the front jack can touch the car. With there being no current agreement on front vs. rear with one being more allowable than the other. In other words, if the front jack can touch, why not the rear?
4. This has been tried to be resolved, but apparently there is no "agreement" on the solution.
5. An interesting comment in the video around 5:08 "shouldn't expect anything else from teams as they are ruthless entities that will not hesitate to break from established convention if it serves a competitive purpose" In short, the rules and/or enforcement are poor, so teams take advantage of it.
As to the topic of "work on" vs "touch". It is interesting that we are getting into semantics. I have looked up some definitions for "work" and most call out a version of "effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result" I would say that positioning the jack in the right place fits that description. As I mentioned in the race thread, I think there is a massive slippery slope if positioning tools is allowed. Why not allow them to place guns on tire nuts? Why not allow hands on tires to "prepare" for their removal? What if debris from another car or a visor tear off is stuck in an intake. Can I remove it without "touching" or "working on" the car (the debris is not from OUR car.. how am I "working on" our car if I am touching parts from someone else?)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Aysedasi
What if a tyre man slips and grabs the rear wing to prevent himself from falling. Is that working on the car? We all know it isn't. I would also say a jackman who has the jack ready to lift the car isn't working on the car, he is preparing to work on the car.
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How would I solve this problem? I think "touching" might be too strict for the example mentioned above. I actually think "work on" is appropriate basis of the rule language, but I would add some phraseology around non-allowance of "
actions with a competitive purpose" and trying to perform a quick pitstop and positioning items that are "touching" the car is done for competitive purpose. So what would be a punishable offense? Having a jack touching the car and ready to lift, putting a wheel gun on the nut, removing debris, but not "touching the car" all would count as a rule violation. Tripping and briefly touching the car would not count as a violation.
And when explaining the regulation I would call out primary purposes of actions. For example.. the front jack. Is the primary purpose of the jack to guide the car in or lift the car to allow removal of tires? The primary function is clearly to lift the car. Guiding drivers into the pit box is secondary and frankly not required. Drivers are capable of putting a car into a box (well... clearly AM drivers struggle... especially at the start of races
but the point stands that they are able to stop in a box).
But the argument that front jacks are "special" is bogus IMHO. If serving a penalty the front jack man would be asked to not engage the car as it enters the box. If the driver runs beyond the box and hits the front jack, the jack man would be required to pull the jack away from the car and then re-engage AFTER the penalty is served. Generally speaking there should be visible air between anyone and anything and the car while serving the penalty (non competitive accidental touches notwithstanding)
Richard