Why F1 drivers can't have their cake and eat it over track limits

If once is funny, twice is silly, and three times naughty, then it is little wonder Formula 1 drivers were up in arms about the 43 track limits infractions at the Austrian Grand Prix.

The tricky nature of some of the Red Bull Ring’s turns, especially the high-speed final downhill right hander, were always likely to make life difficult for drivers when it came to being inch perfect with the positioning of their tyres to not run wide.

As Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said afterwards: "I think the problem is the nature of the circuit invites the drivers to use the track limits..."

But the scale of the problem last time out may be nothing compared to what could be coming at Paul Ricard this weekend, with Horner in particular mindful that the nature of the French venue – which as a bespoke test venue is designed around lots of painted lines – may invite even more trouble.

"I think my concern isn't so much here, I think Ricard will be a bigger issue in that there is a genuine time gain to be had,” he explained in Austria.

“And obviously, you've got acres of tarmac there, so it's just inviting you to run offline."

But while the track limits debate will certainly be a big talking point over the next few days, is the problem that serious?

Sure, 43 breaches of the limit in races, and the handing down of several time penalties, may not be a good look as a one-off, but it really is a price worth paying for something that the FIA has long been pushed for: consistency. Under previous F1 race director Michael Masi, there had been no hard and fast rule on track limits – as the Australian was very much of the mindset that every corner and every incident needed to be judged on its own merit.

The white line is defined as the outer limit of the circuit - with it regularly surpassed at the Red Bull Ring's final corner

Photo by: Bryn Lennon - Formula 1

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Sometimes the track limits were defined as the edge of the kerbs, or sometimes drivers could do what they wanted as there were natural deterrents in place like artificial grass. But the need for interpretation on such matters prompted controversies at times, as drivers invariably exploited any opportunity to use a bit of extra asphalt.

And when penalties were sometimes handed out for crossing a line in one place but kerbs could be abused at another, or what was not allowed in qualifying was okay for the race, accusations of inconsistency surfaced. Starting in 2022, one of F1’s new race director Niels Wittich changed tact and made things much simpler. There would be no ifs and no buts. Track limits would be regulated by the solid white line at the edge of the track.

“In accordance with the provisions of Article 33.3, the white lines define the track edges,” he regularly states in his pre-event notes at each grand prix.

"I don’t think we should have this, ‘ah you went 1mm over, that’s a penalty or whatever’. Then just add a wall or bring some gravel back. It doesn’t look good for the sport" Max Verstappen

In theory, that has delivered exactly what drivers have asked for: complete consistency across the calendar and across each race weekend. Drivers know where the limit is and know that if their car goes entirely outside the white line, then that is a rules breach.

However, there are two further elements that are important here. The first is consistency of policing: for what has annoyed drivers is that sometimes it has appeared that others have got away with running wide while they themselves have been punished. Lando Norris was also quite annoyed that one of the three track limits breaches that eventually earned him a penalty in the Austrian GP was for making a mistake at Turn 1 which cost him time already.

“I just like locked up the front tyre, I hit the sausage and I’ve lost like a second up the hill,” he said. “And then I just get track limits for that. I’ve been punished enough, because I’ve lost one second. It’s a bit stupid, some of them.”

But even he accepts that the FIA has only acted on requests for clear limits – so there can’t then be exemptions that allow drivers to run wide in certain circumstances. Imagine the complaints if track limits penalties were decided in post-race investigations that determined how much time was gained or lost by running wide?

Lando Norris admits the FIA's new staunch attitude to track limits is "frustrating"

Photo by: Alessio Morgese

“It’s life and it’s the same for everyone,” said Norris. “We want consistency and so on. It’s just frustrating when you’re in the car.”

The other issue at play here is track designs, and you have to have some sympathy for drivers in the way that the tricky high-speed Turn 10 in Austria makes it so difficult to predict where a car will end up on the exit.

As Verstappen said: "I don’t think we should have this, ‘ah you went 1mm over, that’s a penalty or whatever’. Then just add a wall or bring some gravel back. It doesn’t look good for the sport as well.”

He is partly right. But what’s needed going forward is not a change of approach from the FIA in its track limit policy, because drivers are getting the consistency they so craved for. Instead, if there are more problematic corners like Turn 10 in Austria, then the track design must be done in such a way that there is no incentive for drivers to try to push things too far and take liberties by running wide. Putting a wall there right on the exit is not the answer, but an improved arrangement of kerbs or gravel would be enough for drivers to better understand the risk/rewards for carrying too much speed.

Beyond that, the situation needs even more rigorous policing and enforcing, so mistakes like Sergio Perez’s infraction in Q2 at the Austrian Grand Prix don’t slip through the net – and drivers can be assured that if they (or rivals) are pinged for a breach they are actually over the line.

The FIA has given drivers the consistency they so wanted in understanding where track limits are. Now the governing body must stand firm and be consistent in enforcing them strictly 100% of the time. The onus is then on the drivers to keep within those white lines at all times.

Paul Ricard may throw up even more track limits consternation

Photo by: Drew Gibson / Motorsport Images