Haas: We all want clarity regarding F1 radio rules

Amid confusion and gray areas regarding team-to-driver radio communications during a grand prix, Haas team chief Guenther Steiner has called for clarification regarding the restrictions.

In the wake of the British Grand Prix controversy where Nico Rosberg was coached by his engineer to find a solution to what appeared to be a computer problem and his subsequent penalty, Steiner says the rules need to be clear for the benefit of F1.

He told ESPN, "We all just want [clarity] for the benefit of the sport, not to do anything wrong. It would not be nice to be penalised 10 seconds and to say 'Actually I didn't do anything', and you cannot put in a protest because you have no leg to stand on. It's not black and white this rule."

Steiner claims that teams are not quite sure what is permitted and what is banned.

"The biggest difficulty is making a judgment on what is legal and what's not. The line is not clear. How you can write a clear line on what you say, if you talk in a code, if somebody suggests what you say was a code and it wasn't?"

"It comes down to the pitwall and asking 'Can we say this?' I don't really know if we can say this, but I think you can. It's the uncertainty. We need to define it better, but how easy that is, I wouldn't like to write that rule because how long is a piece of string?"

"It's not easy to control. But not talking like it was suggested is not good because [too many radio messages] takes something away from the fans in my opinion. If the team cannot influence the strategy, and it's just down to the driver, it's not really fair, I would say."

"It's part of the sport. But telling them how to start is also not right. The car becomes a PlayStation car in saying, you do this, you do this, get to this value. It's a fine line."

The radio rules allow messages to be conveyed for safety reasons or to prevent a failure or major technical issue. But that leaves a large patch of gray for teams to interpret.

"With Rosberg, he had a problem with the gearbox and they told him not to go in that gear. In the end I could say that could be dangerous going into that gear because all of a sudden you are in neutral and you fly off. That's what I think. The definition of it is difficult, to rule on what is right and what is wrong," concluded Steiner.