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Lawrence Edmondson, F1 Editor
SPIELBERG, Austria — Formula 1 returns to Austria this weekend for the second of three European races. These days, no trip to the Red Bull Ring is complete without an in-depth discussion of one of the sport’s trickiest topics: track limits, so this is the ideal place to start this week’s paddock diary.
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Beyond the Borders
F1 has rarely been as ridiculous as it was at the Red Bull Ring 12 months ago, when it took the FIA nearly five hours to confirm the results of the 2023 Austrian Grand Prix. The race took just one hour and 25 minutes after race officials sifted through 1,200 potential track limit breaches for infringements.
It was painstaking work to establish how many of the 20 drivers crossed the white lines marking the circuit’s limits during the 70-lap race, and how many had at least one tire working while running their cars at the adhesion limit. After extensive analysis by the FIA, 12 individual penalties were imposed on eight drivers, with all but two moving from fourth to 19th place.
After the race it was clear a solution was needed before 2024.
The problem with hosting the race in 2023 is not new. Large asphalt run-off areas at the exit of Turns 9 and 10 encourage drivers to enter the corners as fast as possible, knowing they can pull off the track without immediate consequence.
To prevent drivers from gaining a lap-time advantage by doing so, the FIA has pledged to strictly enforce a three-warning policy, under which a driver will receive three track-limit warnings during a race, with a 10-second penalty for the fourth infraction and a five-second penalty for each infraction thereafter.
It’s easy to agree in the silence of the briefing room but not so easy to follow in the heat of battle, explains world champion Max Verstappen.
“During the lap, the tyres overheat and the front tyre gets very hot so naturally you get a lot of understeer. Sometimes you already get understeer on the entrance to the corner and it has consequences on the exit. [going over the track limit] An error of a few millimetres will result in a track penalty.”
For 2024, the FIA and the Red Bull Ring came up with a solution: a 2.5-metre-wide gravel path behind the kerbs to penalise drivers who go off track. Blue lines have also been added in addition to the white lines marking the track exits, to help the new AI system (in use at other tracks this year) sift through potential infringements before they are sent to human judges.
“[The drivers] “We will see where the limit is,” FIA race director Niels Wittich said. “That’s what they want, that’s what they’re asking for.”
“They will get feedback, they will feel it when they get close to the gravel and if their wheels go into the gravel it will penalise them because it will slow down the car.”
“It’s a natural deterrent and the number one request from the drivers. It removes the temptation to push the limit because there’s nothing to gain from it. If it’s just lines and asphalt, the drivers and the teams will always push to the last millimetre because they can. But when you’re driving on gravel, it’s impossible to go faster.”
For safety reasons, the regular asphalt run-off remains at the end of the gravel road, but several drivers on Thursday questioned whether the new set-up would be a permanent solution.
“It’s a good modification, but hopefully we don’t end up in a situation like the second chicane at Monza where gravel comes onto the track and there’s a higher chance of punctures,” said RB driver Yuki Tsunoda. “If someone is running on the gravel and it comes onto the track, you’re definitely going to have problems in the next corner. The last corner is still a high-speed corner and you still need grip on the rear, so that’s probably the only concern. Also, the gravel could damage the floor.”
Williams driver Logan Sargent said: “I’m not convinced this will solve the problem completely, to be honest. We managed to clear the track limits at Turn 9 in Imola, which is nearly impossible, so if we could do it there I think we can still do it here. And in future I would like to see a way in the track design to eliminate track limits completely. I think there’s always the opportunity to do it and I see no reason not to.”
Whether this solution creates more problems than it solves will become clear during Friday’s opening practice and sprint qualifying sessions.
Stroll wants ‘GOAT’ new way for Aston Martin
Lance Stroll rarely gets enthusiastic about anything during his media interactions, but one question on Thursday seemed to pique his interest.
After giving a string of knee-jerk answers about a new contract with Aston Martin, the team owned by his father, the mood changed with suggestions that design guru Adrian Newey, who is leaving Red Bull, might join in 2025.
“That’s pretty amazing!” he said. “He’s the GOAT. He’s won more championships than anybody in this paddock. So everybody wants to wear his colors.”
Newey will leave reigning champions Red Bull at the end of the year and will be available to move to another team by the second quarter of 2025. Aston Martin has emerged in recent weeks as the favourite to sign him and Stroll believes that could happen within the next few months.
“We’re building a really exciting wind tunnel, we have a really exciting campus with all the tools that teams need to be competitive and successful, so I think it will be attractive for anyone involved in F1 to be part of that.”
Should motor racing be an Olympic sport?
Motorsport was shortlisted as a possible addition to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics but was rejected by the International Olympic Committee last year. The possibility of some sort of motor racing at the Olympics tends to come up every four years but is always met with the same scoffing.
On Thursday, one journalist took up a torch and quizzed as many drivers as he could find.
“It would be great to have motorsport in the Olympics,” Charles Leclerc responded, “but I think it would be a bit more difficult to organise than other sports, because in F1 everyone is driving different cars from different manufacturers. And to get everyone in the same car, of course you have to choose what route you want to take, how much downforce, how much horsepower, everything. But it’s definitely possible.”
I asked Max Verstappen the same question. “No, not for me,” he said. There was a short but grim silence. “It’s all about the cars. And you didn’t grow up in an Olympic environment. To be honest with you, it’s not for me. I don’t feel like it. I don’t think we’re cut out for the Olympic stage.”
What about Lewis Hamilton, does he want to represent Great Britain in the Olympics?
“No, I don’t think of it as an Olympic sport. But I’m looking forward to going because my good friend Miles Chamley Watson will be competing in fencing. I’m really proud to be able to watch and support him.”
