Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has called for Formula 1’s track limits rules to be clearer and not a “Shakespeare novel that leaves interpretation” after the Bahrain Gran𒐪d Prix.

A thrilling season-opening race at Sakhir was overshadowed by a post-race debate over track limits regulations following confusion over what was and wasn🌠’t deemed illegal after a mid-race intervention from race control came amid Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen’s titanic late battle for the win.

Verstappen was t💧old to relinquish the lead having passed Hamilton by goinಞg over the track limits line at the exit of Turn 4 with four laps remaining in Sunday’s race.

Drivers exceeding the boundary of the track saw their lap times deleted in FP2, FP3 and qualifying following a track limits U-Turn by the FIA after first practice on Friday, but they were not officially monitored during the🍸 race.

Hamilton was among a number of drivers who repeatedly ran wide at Turn 4 in꧒ the early stagꦐes of the race before he was warned by Mercedes at mid-distance to stop or risk a penalty after the team received instructions from race control.

"I'm equally confused like you," Wol🅰ff said. "At the beginning of the race it was said track limits in Turn 4 wouldn't be sanctioned and then in the race suddenly we heard that if you would continue to run wide it would be seen as an ad🍬vantage and could cause a potential penalty.

"And then at the end that decision actually made us win the race. Max ran wide in the definition of the race director, gaining an advantage, he had to give back the 🧔position and that saved ou💦r victory.

"So we need to be consistent in which messages are being given. They need to be clear, they need to be sacred and noജt a Shakespeare novel that leaves interpretation.”

The ambiguity over what was allowed caused confusion for the teams and drivers alike, with Hamilton and Verstappen both initially criticising race control for changing its policy mid𒁏-race.

In an attempt to clarify the matter, F1 race director Michael Masi insisted that “nothing changed at all” during the race itself, explaining 🍸that Verstappen’s off-track pass🍰 was illegal because of a key ꦿdist꧟inction in what was deemed as ‘gaining an advantage’.

Red Bull boss Christian Horner accepted the punishment but was left frustrated by the 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:“shades of grey” in the rules, while Wolff also called for  the situation to be properly addressed moving forw꧙ard.

"The message that reached the drivers was that very simply💃 track limits in Turn 4 wouldn't be sanctioned in the race,” Wolff added.

"Ron [Meadows, Mercedes sporting director] and I were speaking to Michael [Masi, F1 race directo♔r] during the race. Michael referred to🔯 the note saying, 'Yes, but only if you're not gaining an advantage' and that was in the notes. I haven't seen them.

"I think the learninꦍg of this is it needs to be simple, so everybody can understand it and they don't need to carry the docume🔜nt in the car to read it and remind themselves what actually is allowed and what not."