Charlie Whiting has all but stated that the 107 percent qualifying rule will not be enforced this weekend in Australia.
During the final pre-season test in Bahrain, several drivers fell short of the mark which sparked concerns some may miss the 107 per cent time as the teams struggle to adjust to the new rules.
However, it appears that drivers will be given a pass as FIA race director Whiting says the stewards will be lenient.
“I think the 107 per cent rule was introduced to make sure that teams that weren’t capable of producing a good car that was of the required performance wouldn’t actually get into the races,” said Whiting
“What we have out here at the moment are 11 teams that we know are capable. They may be suffering a temporary performance loss but I’m sure the stewards will look very sympathetically on any team that doesn’t make the 107 per cent.