The FIA has dropped the 'Max Verstappen rule' governing Formula 1 driver conduct in braking zones as part of its bid to allow greater freedom on-track in 2017.

Late last season, the FIA clarified the rules regarding drivers battling wheel-to-wheel in response to complaints about the way Verstappen, in particular, moved under braking to defend his position on occasions.

Those changes resulted in Sebastian Vettel being penalized for the way he defended against Daniel Ricciardo in the Mexican Grand Prix. Over the winter, however, the FIA made clear it wanted to give drivers more freedom to race each other.

"Some of the incidents that we saw last year may be handled slightly differently, simply because the so-called 'Verstappen rule' has gone," said F1 race director Charlie Whiting ahead of the Australian Grand Prix this weekend.

Before, any move under braking would be investigated. Now, a rule states that if a driver moves erratically, goes unnecessarily slowly or behaves in a manner that could endanger another driver, they will be investigated.

Whiting said that simplifying the rules was a desire of the teams for this year, and the FIA has been working with stewards ahead of the season-opener.

To help improve the consistency of decisions, a video archive of key incidents has been put together for stewards to access at short notice. This allows them to instantly refer to other incidents of a similar nature.

Whiting clarified that the strict rules governing drivers only making one move while defending a position remain in place.