Working group puts runway limits under the microscope
Following recent concerns about the lack of consistent application of track limits in F1, a working group will be set up to look specifically at this issue.
The Austrian team, Red Bull, outraged by the series of penalties imposed on Max Verstappen this year for track limits violations, has called for a change in approach. During the regular meeting with Stefano Domenicali, CEO of F1, and team principals during the Spanish GP weekend, this issue was discussed.
Christian Horner, the team principal of Red Bull Racing, spoke out about the issue after his driver, Max Verstappen, lost a race victory in Bahrain, as well as a pole position and fastest lap in Portugal due to track limit rules. He recently stated: “I think there have been healthy discussions, and there is a working group being set up. We just need to come up with something simple, clear, and understandable for the drivers, fans, and teams. It shouldn’t be so difficult.”
It is very difficult to establish strict and definitive limits for each Grand Prix in Formula 1. The cars are subject to many modifications between each season, as a result, drivers will not extract performance from their cars in the same way from one year to the next and will also abuse track limits at different locations.
It was remarkable at the 2021 Portuguese Grand Prix where control of turn 14 had become necessary unlike in the 2020 season, due to the new regulations put in place in 2021 reducing downforce. Michael Masi, the F1 race director, has spoken about the complexity of finding a solution that works for all circuits.
« I think ideally, we would like to have a strict limit everywhere,” he said. « But it’s difficult with the circuits. It’s a constant evolutionary process. At Portimao, there are places that pose track limit problems one year, and that don’t the following year. And vice versa. It’s a continuous evolution that we work on with each of the circuits. This obviously requires a significant investment on their part.”
« We must find the best balance in every situation »
« In a sense, it would be good to have walls everywhere, as we will see in a few weeks in Monaco or Baku, but we are constantly racing on different types of circuits. So, when we consider everything from a safety perspective, we must find the best balance at every point in each situation. Every corner is different, and every circuit is different.
