Formula 1 Racing

FIA treating drivers like ‘amateurs’ on track limits

FIA treating drivers like 'amateurs' on track limits

Max Verstappen is none too impressed with how track limits rules are currently being enforced by the stewards.

Verstappen was speaking in the wake of the latest furore regarding track limits, as Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez had a time deleted and reinstated during the course of Q2 during the Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying session.

Perez had a time deleted for an alleged track limits breach at Turn 5, only for the race stewards to reverse this decision minutes later and give the Mexican driver his time back after further checks.

Despite this, Perez failed to progress from Q2 as his second run was compromised by running slightly wide through Turn 2 as he negotiated his way past Haas’ Kevin Magnussen.

Perez’s track limits moment comes just a few weeks after an incident during qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix, in which he made it through to Q3 and qualified fourth, only to have all his times deleted from his final run in Q2 onward – this was due to a retrospective deletion of his final Q2 time for exceeding track limits.

For 2022, race directors Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas have implemented a firm stance on track limits, with the white line at the edge of the track delineating the circuit limits – regardless of the amount of kerbing and run-off installed by the circuits.

It’s led to plenty of seemingly harsh deletions, with the Austrian Grand Prix also resulting in several drivers being given five-second time penalties for exceeding limits during the race.

Verstappen revealed that, while drivers had asked for more clarity regarding track limits after a flexible approach was employed by former race director Michael Masi during 2021, the enforcement of the rules has now become too draconian.

“Last night [at the driver briefing], they started talking about Turn 13, the exit, the dotted line was the track edge,” Verstappen told media after qualifying, as quoted by F1i.com.

“There was a kerb and a white line next to it, which, for me personally, is the track edge. We have so many silly little things which make it also more difficult for them to police.

“I don’t know. As drivers, we always want to help and give our advice, but nothing was heard and for me, that’s extremely frustrating. I don’t want to fight with them, I want to just advise them, but it seems like they don’t really care.

“They actually, for my feeling, look at us a bit like we are amateurs. I don’t think that’s correct.”

Unsurprisingly, given…

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