Formula 1: New powers for stewards at next year's grands prix

Formula 1 stewards have been given additional new powers by the FIA. Following the final meeting of the year of the World Motor Sport Council in Monaco on Friday, a raft of changes to the Sporting and Technical Regulations were announced for 2011.

Among them were amendments to the list of penalties stewards are permitted to apply.

In the past, stewards were only allowed to impose upon a driver a drive-through penalty, a 10-second time penalty or a drop in grid positions for the next event. Now stewards can exclude a driver from the race classification or suspend him from the next grand prix.

The FIA have also announced a clampdown on driving standards. Not permitted are manoeuvres liable to hinder other drivers, such as more than one change of direction to defend a position.

Another significant move has resulted in the introduction of a curfew on team personnel at grands prix. This is designed to cut down on the amount of hours worked by mechanics in particular, who have often been known to burn the midnight oil in preparation of their team's cars.