Verstappen rule ditched ahead of season opener

Formula 1 rule-makers have the ditched the "Verstappen rule" which was introduced last year to clarify to what extent drivers could move under braking to defend against an overtake, in the wake of drivers complaining about Max Verstappen's defensive tactics.

But race director Charlie Whiting explained, ahead of the season opening Australian Grand Prix, that stewards would approach such incidents differently, "Before we said any move under braking would be investigate."

"Now, we have a simple, broad rule that says effectively if a driver moves erratically or goes unnecessarily slowly or behaves in a manner that could endanger another driver then he will be investigated."

Whiting revealed that the changes came about after teams and drivers requested that there be less regulation of on-track battles, "They wanted less investigation and only cases where it was clearly dangerous would they take action."