When the FIA announced Formula 1 race director Michael Masi was to be replaced and his role shared between two new appointees, it was clear the sport’s bold new era in car design would be matched by similar changes in officiating.
The appointment of former DTM race director Niels Wittich and World Endurance Championship and Le Mans 24 Hours race director Eduardo Freitas was supposed to restore some badly-needed credibility to the role – and F1 itself – following the deeply controversial conclusion to last year’s championship in Abu Dhabi. By sharing the role between two established figures, the idea was also to lighten the load on those tasked with carrying out duties throughout the season.
In motorsport, only the race stewards can hand down penalties to competitors – but the race director is the one who determines how the rules will be interpreted every race weekend. The new regime introduced one of its most significant changes at the first race of the year.
Over recent seasons the rules around track limits in Formula 1 varied from circuit to circuit, corner to corner and even from session to session. But from the start of this year it was announcement that track limits would simply be defined by the white lines on the outside of the racing surface. No ambiguity. No exceptions.
This no-nonsense approach to track limits was warmly welcomed by many fans of the sport, hopeful that it would put a stop to the seemingly endless debate over this particular rule of racing every weekend. The impact of this new approach has certainly been felt so far in 2022.
Across the first 11 races of the championship, exactly half the season, the FIA’s panels of stewards have deleted a total of 233 lap times from competitive sessions – qualifying, sprint races and grands prix – after 196 track limits offences. The most regular offender was Williams driver Alexander Albon, who has committed 16 track limits infringements this season. Lewis Hamilton was second, tallying 14 breaches.
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Track limits infringements through first half of 2022 Formula 1 season:
| Rank | Driver | Team | Track limits infringements | Total lap times deleted | Time penalties |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alex Albon | Williams | 16 | 17 | 1 |
| 2 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 14 | 17 | 0 |
| 3 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri | 13 | 16 | 1 |
| = | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 13 | 16 | 0 |
| = | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | 13 | 13 | 0 |
| 6 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin | 12 | 16 | 1 |
| 7 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 11 | 14 | 1 |
| = | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Ferrari | 11 | 13 | 0 |
| = | Yuki… |
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