Formula One changes safety car rules

Formula One’s governing body has ditched a controversial rule that led to drivers being penalized for pitting during the early stages of the safety car being deployed in a race.

The revised rule will now allow the pits to stay open, with new software regulating the speed of drivers returning to refuel.

"The rule introduced in 2007 was a bad one, and we’ve gone back to the 2006 regulations," Formula One race director Charlie Whiting told the International Automobile Federation (FIA) Web site (www.fia.com) on Tuesday.

"The only difference is we intend to implement a minimum time back to the pits," he added. "When we deploy the safety car, the message will go to all the cars, which will then have a "safety car" mode on their ECUs (electronic control units).

"As soon as that message gets to the car, it’ll know where it is on the circuit, and it will calculate a minimum time for the driver to get back to the pits. The driver will have to respect this and the information will be displayed on his dashboard."

The rule closing the pits was introduced for safety reasons to prevent drivers speeding through an accident zone in their haste to gain an advantage by getting back to the pits and refueling.