There was mild excitement in the world of Twitter last night as it emerged that some drivers could be disqualified from the German Grand Prix weekend for a technical infringement.
Instantly thoughts turned to things like engine mapping, rear-wings, diffusers or some dodgy new device on certain cars. However, the problem was something far more mundane: overalls.
During scrutineering Fernando Alonso, Felipe Massa, Michael Schumacher, Nico Rosberg, Adrian Sutil, Paul di Resta and Nico Hulkenberg presented race overalls that did not conform with FIA Standard 8856-200, which states that “the [FIA] label shall be embroidered directly onto the outermost label of the outer garment and on the rear of the collar so as to be easily visible.” On the offending overalls, the FIA logo was screen-printed, presumably to save weight.
These seven drivers have now reverted to overalls that conform to the FIA regulations and will be on track this weekend. In other words, the matter has now been sewn up.
