Maybe this thought will clear up the situation. Let's think about the
concept of forced vs. unforced errors. An unforced error is where you
are the one who spins out in front of the other cars, or puts your car
in an impossible situation, or just plain screws up. A forced error
is where you go off track to avoid the guy who screwed up. Clearly,
the forced error shouldn't draw a penalty unless some subsequent action
warrants it. Some tracks and some corners just plain have nowhere to go
if somebody screws up right in front of you. The more user-friendly
tracks will have somewhere to take evasive maneuvers resulting in minor
or no damage. In a multi-car incident, I say the driver who committed
the unforced error should draw the stiffest, and perhaps the only
penalty. It's true that you can't pass somebody without driving in
close quarters, but you can still leave some room for error. I also
agree that the 3rd car in a pile-up should have had the most time to
take evasive action, unless the incident was in a blind location. If
not, I say the 1st and 3rd cars should draw a penalty, while the 2nd
car could be excused as a hapless victim. The Stewards should, of
course, review the incident with input from all involved drivers
before handing out any penalties. All could be at fault, or none could
be at fault, depending on the particulars.
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