Formula 1 Racing

Parts of track limit enforcement in Austria a ‘bit stupid’

Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris at the Austrian Grand Prix. Spielberg, July 2022.

Lando Norris felt that the policing of track limits went too far at times in Austria and no longer served its purpose.

Norris was one of several drivers to receive a five-second time penalty for multiple track limits violations, with a total of 43 lap times deleted during the Austrian Grand Prix.

Ultimately, Norris, who finished P7, thought that Mick Schumacher up the road in P6 would have been in his sights, though the penalty ended that hope.

Reflecting on his race in conversation with Sky Sports F1, Norris said: “I’m reasonably happy I would say. I think the only thing was my five-second penalty from track limits.

“I did two of them very early on, so I was on my final warning for three of them quite early on. So I was on my final warning for quite a long time and it’s a tough track to stay within the lines first of all, especially when you’re fighting the car a bit more when you’re pushing to try and get the guys ahead and you just have to push to that limit.

“I went over it obviously a few too many times which cost us, we should have been P6 ahead of Schumacher I reckon, we could have had a fight with him I’d say, but they were quick, he did a good job, he managed the tyres well.

“And we got the points we wanted, so I think from our pre-race objectives, we succeeded in that.”

Asked why it was so difficult to stay within the white lines, Norris explained that they are not visible from the cockpit, so that means that a lot of guessing is needed.

He also took issue with some of the rulings, referencing one in particular where he got Turn 1 all wrong and lost time, yet got a tick on the board for track limits.

Instances like that he felt were examples of the enforcement getting rather “stupid”.

“You can’t see the white lines, it’s just guessing and I’m obviously not good enough at guessing,” he explained.

“I think when I really had to be I could be, it’s just you’ve got to back off a bit, so it’s more about risk reward in a way.

“But even sometimes, like I got a warning from Turn 1 and it was just a complete mistake, I lost time, so when you look at it that way, I can say it’s a bit stupid. I’ve locked up, I’ve hit the exit kerb, I’ve lost like three or four tenths. So it’s not like not punishing me for the last corner where you just commit to running off and gaining an advantage.

“This was just me making mistakes. So I don’t feel like I should be punished for it.”

Nonetheless, it was a…

Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at News – PlanetF1…