Track Limits

[Tifoso Svedese]

Surely this has gone way too far from the track limits maFIA?

Pretending the kerbs aren't part of what's perceived as the track for several years now when they mandate the widest cars in history has been the dumbest nonsense I've seen yet. The fact that the IQ-less race direction fail to see this is just beyond a farce. Fire all of them

[Greig]

Majority of drivers are managing fine.

[Aviamata]

Surely this has gone way too far from the track limits maFIA?

Pretending the kerbs aren't part of what's perceived as the track for several years now when they mandate the widest cars in history has been the dumbest nonsense I've seen yet. The fact that the IQ-less race direction fail to see this is just beyond a farce. Fire all of them

I hope that 2025 car will narrower as well . These car can't race in Monaco

[JPZ]

Was this a record for amount of race penalties?

[tifosi1993]

Majority of drivers are managing fine.

+1. Maybe maFIA () should put walls everywhere, so the drivers wouldn't dare to go off track and gain an advantage!

[Aviamata]

5 sec is just too much ! maybe we should have something like +0.5 sec or +1 sec atleast ! . The advantage going over the line isn't that much (especially in race) . Btw deleted laptime in Qualifying is okay .

[Aviamata]

Was this a record for amount of race penalties?

You can check it in here : https://www.fia.com/documents/champi...ason-2023-2042

[Lebaronrouge]

So, when the track was wet like yesterday, slippier and riskier, drivers were all able to keep within the white lines as they knew too well that putting a tyre over it could be damaging. But, then, when it comes to the dry race when pilots have perfect control of their cars, they are suddenly not able to keep within those lines. And, suddenly, when they almost all got warnings, they stop doing it.

Pilots see an advantage in flirting with those limits in dry and know too well to keep away from them in wet.

Conclusion, don't be fooled, don't blame the FIA but the pilots. In fact, maybe the sanction is not strong enough! 5 seconds of penalty lost over 71 laps is 0.07s per lap. How much can they gain by flirting with those white lines? Probably more, and that is why they still do it. Put a more severe penalty, such as a drive through and you will see that no driver will dare to go near these lines during the race.... as during a wet races.

[jgonzalesm6]

Surely this has gone way too far from the track limits maFIA?

Pretending the kerbs aren't part of what's perceived as the track for several years now when they mandate the widest cars in history has been the dumbest nonsense I've seen yet. The fact that the IQ-less race direction fail to see this is just beyond a farce. Fire all of them

So during qualifying, 45 times were deleted for track limits i.e. going over the white line......especially at T10.

The rule is the same for everyone so everyone has to adjust or take the penalty as most did during the race. BTW, you're handed 3 black and white flags before the 4th being the 5 second timed penalty.

[jgonzalesm6]

So, when the track was wet like yesterday, slippier and riskier, drivers were all able to keep within the white lines as they knew too well that putting a tyre over it could be damaging. But, then, when it comes to the dry race when pilots have perfect control of their cars, they are suddenly not able to keep within those lines. And, suddenly, when they almost all got warnings, they stop doing it.

Pilots see an advantage in flirting with those limits in dry and know too well to keep away from them in wet.

Conclusion, don't be fooled, don't blame the FIA but the pilots. In fact, maybe the sanction is not strong enough! 5 seconds of penalty lost over 71 laps is 0.07s per lap. How much can they gain by flirting with those white lines? Probably more, and that is why they still do it. Put a more severe penalty, such as a drive through and you will see that no driver will dare to go near these lines during the race.... as during a wet races.

Correct. Toto in the post race interview(Speilberg 2023) said maybe they should put sausage kerbs and IF the drivers damage their cars, then it's on the drivers.

[Lebaronrouge]

Correct. Toto in the post race interview(Speilberg 2023) said maybe they should put sausage kerbs and IF the drivers damage their cars, then it's on the drivers.

This was done in the past in several other circuits, including here. For instance look at the highlights from 2018: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpBKQz3DyTU. They had sausage kerbs at the exit of turn 10 or 9. There were quite far away as they were adapted to the previous regulation. At Monza, sausage kerbs were also put in the parabolica to prevent pilots from going large. Silverstone as well in the last sector. All these "protections" were removed as teams and pilots complained about the safety.
So hearing Toto commenting on that makes me laugh. Now they want them to come back after having fought against them.... So, what guarantee do we have that they will not fight against them in the future, especially by blaming the FIA in front of everybody in the media?

[Kyss4k]

The answer is simple... grass and gravel.

[SS454]

It stuns me that people are blaming the FIA or Stewards for track limits. Every single driver is 100% capable of staying within the white lines. They push the limits because it's faster. That's it. The rules are very clear, and very fair. If all 4 tires are outside the white line (even by 1 mm), then it's considered track limits. The only ones at fault are the drivers, plain and simple.

[Tifoso Svedese]

I'm not saying drivers should be able to get out on the actual runoffs. I'm just saying that MotoGP rules should apply, where the kerbs are considered part of the racing surface for practical purposes. It's a lot easier reference point than a white line you can't see half the time. To add extra penalties after the race is just bonkers and makes matters worse. It's been a gigantic fiasco to deal with the issue like this. Also, MotoGP basically suicided itself adding the aero, 22-race calendars when injuries are frequent and permanent sprint races so who cares if the riders don't want gravel traps? Just add them already. No-one watches MotoGP these days anyway because of their gigantic own goals.

Even a gravel strip with asphalt behind it would be way better than this. Then the driver can be risking it on the kerbs however much they would dare to.

[Lebaronrouge]

I'm not saying drivers should be able to get out on the actual runoffs. I'm just saying that MotoGP rules should apply, where the kerbs are considered part of the racing surface for practical purposes. It's a lot easier reference point than a white line you can't see half the time. To add extra penalties after the race is just bonkers and makes matters worse. It's been a gigantic fiasco to deal with the issue like this. Also, MotoGP basically suicided itself adding the aero, 22-race calendars when injuries are frequent and permanent sprint races so who cares if the riders don't want gravel traps? Just add them already. No-one watches MotoGP these days anyway because of their gigantic own goals.

Even a gravel strip with asphalt behind it would be way better than this. Then the driver can be risking it on the kerbs however much they would dare to.

Again, if they can't see the white lines half of the time. How can they manage to keep off these lines during wet weather?

[Ferrari312T4]

I don't mind track limit penalties but this post race penalty Bonanza just feels unsatisfactory. I didn't see any notifications of track limit violation for Sainz after his last pitstop. Is it because the fifth warning is a 10 sec penalty?

[jgonzalesm6]

The stewards went thru 1200 infractions during the AustrainGP.....that's mindblowing!!!

The FIA and track organizers are going to have to do something about track limits....especially in the turns that received the most track limits whether a wall or grass/gravel.

[SS454]

The stewards went thru 1200 infractions during the AustrainGP.....that's mindblowing!!!

The FIA and track organizers are going to have to do something about track limits....especially in the turns that received the most track limits whether a wall or grass/gravel.

That's insane. I understand why it took them so long. I find it even more hard to believe that only those that received penalties exceeded track limits.

If it's a case of visual reference, then they could easily paint the white line and the curbs different colors. I am a bit against adding sausage curbs as those have been known to be incredibly dangerous. Much better to monitor track limits and give post race penalties than have someone die. If they really wanted to, they could install a transponder wire in the ground that would talk with the car's transponder. Easy enough to measure the to a correct distance. Installed at turns 4, 9, and 10. Automatically triggers when a car crosses that line and a team instantly reviews to ensure it was simply a track limits case. Since it's done by transponders, the car in question is automatic too.

Start giving out harsher penalties, and drivers will keep their tires within the limits.

[Kyss4k]

Again, if they can't see the white lines half of the time. How can they manage to keep off these lines during wet weather?

They are not using kerbs during wet weather as agressively as in dry due to them being slippery.