Formula 1 drivers have been warned that they will face severe penalties for any chicane-cutting that takes place over the rest of the Italian Grand Prix weekend.
Shortly before qualifying for the Monza race, F1 race director Charlie Whiting wrote to the teams to warn them that the FIA would be taking a harsh line on drivers taking short cuts at the track's first and second chicanes. Whiting stated that the FIA will deem any car that has all four wheels on the wrong wide of the higher part of the relevant curb as having cut the chicane.
He said: "In qualifying, every lap during which a driver cuts or misses a chicane will be deleted. Other than to avoid an accident, if a driver cuts or misses a chicane three times during the race a drive-through penalty will automatically be imposed. Three further cuttings will incur a further drive-through penalty."
Whiting adding that any chicane-cutting that hands a driver an advantage will also be punished - although he clarified that the first lap would be exempt from the 'threestrikes' count unless a clear advantage is gained.