FIA puts `brakes` on pitlane speed following German GP disaster

London: A new pitlane speed limit has been imposed for Formula One teams, cutting it from 100 km/h to 80 km/h with immediate effect, which is expected to give problems to team strategists who may now opt to make fewer stops for fresh tyres.

According to The Sun, the FIA introduced the change in response to the German Grand Prix scare in which a TV cameraman was hit by a bouncing wheel that came off Mark Webber`s Red Bull in the pitlane, adding that they had planned the move for 2014 but brought it forward following the accident. At this weekend`s Hungarian Grand Prix, drivers will now take just over 16 seconds to crawl along the pitlane about four seconds more than before, the report said. The FIA have also rubber-stamped another new rule that requires all team members working on a car during pitstops to wear helmets, the report added. ANI