Jean Bolcher
Friday, November 10, 2023 2:15 PM – Last update: 2:23 PM
Formula 1 stewards have called on the sport to come up with a solution to the issue surrounding track boundaries. These track limits have played a huge negative role at many tracks this season.
The regulations in Formula 1 regarding track boundaries are very simple: the track ends at the white line along the asphalt. If you go over that with all four wheels in free practice or qualifying, you’ll lose lap time. During the race you receive a warning three times first, and then a time penalty is imposed. It may seem simple, but in reality this often causes many problems. As cars in Formula 1 get longer and wider, drivers at some circuits are finding it increasingly difficult to stay within the white lines as they have been in place for years.
Haas right of review was denied
After this year’s Austrian Grand Prix, stewards still had to investigate nearly 1,200 potential violations, leaving the final outcome uncertain for a long time. In Qatar, Oscar Piastri heard during his interview with the top three that he lost his lap time due to track limits, and in the United States the stewards themselves admitted that they did not have sufficient visibility of Turn 6, so it cannot be said with certainty whether all drivers have adhered to the rules here. . The latter was reason enough for Haas to seek a right of review against the result of that race, but this was rejected by the FIA on Thursday.
Also interesting: FIA rejects Haas’ request for right to review: US Grand Prix result still stands
Fix for path boundaries
This closes the matter, but F1 stewards acknowledge a solution must be found: “Given that the stewards have seen evidence showing what appear to be potential track limit violations at Turn 6, they consider their ‘inability to properly assess the current situation’ to be the track limit standard for all drivers.” Not entirely satisfactory, we therefore ask all parties concerned to quickly find a solution to prevent this problem in the future,” the text reads, among other things.
