At last weekend’s Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix 2022, a total of 43 track limit violations were recorded during Sunday’s race at the Red Bull Ring, which added to all the lap times that were erased in the classification, they generated a quite chaotic situation.
Track boundary violations became a real concern at Spielberg, with Max Verstappen, the reigning world champion, calling it “a bit of a joke”.
The Dutchman said: “I don’t think this should be like this; ‘ah, you went over 1mm, that’s a penalty or whatever’. So we add a wall or some gravel and that’s it. This is not good for Formula 1 “.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner fears the track limits issue will get worse at the upcoming French Grand Prix.
The Le Castellet circuit is not the most popular on the calendar largely due to its huge asphalt run-offs, a feature of its design that has in turn earned it the pedigree of being one of the safest circuits in Europe, something key to test.
According to Horner , Paul Ricard will be even worse than the Red Bull Ring in this regard, because its big tarmac run-outs mean drivers can gain a lot of lap time off the line, which means the stewards could be in for a treat. another very busy weekend.
“I think the problem is that the nature of these circuits invites drivers to go outside the limits of the track. And of course there were many, many drivers who were in breach over the weekend,” said the Red Bull driver.
“My concern is not so big here, I think that in Paul Ricard it will be a bigger problem, since there is a lot of time to gain there. And, obviously, you have huge asphalt loopholes, so that invites you to go outside of the racing line.
Haas driver Mick Schumacher also echoed Horner’s concerns ahead of Formula 1’s return to the south of France.
“It’s something that needs to be discussed to see if we can improve it for next weekend, because I think that at Paul Ricard it will be a big concern,” said the young German.
“It seems a bit exaggerated that for going one centimeter off the track they give you a five-second penalty, because also, most of the time when you go off the track you don’t gain time, which is the worst,” concluded the Haas driver.
