Despite Piastri’s frustration, Red Bull Ring’s track limits solution is working

The FIA urged the operators of the Red Bull Ring to solve the persistent track limits problems which turned last year’s race into a farce.

The sport’s governing body had to investigate over a thousand suspected infringements, identified scores which were missed during the race, and handed out a dozen penalties to drivers after the chequered flag dropped.

Finally, the Red Bull Ring succumbed to the pressure to add gravel traps at the final two corners. And the execution has been spot-on.

Already at other tracks this year gravel traps have been added or expanded to reduce the possibility drivers can gain an advantage by going off the track. Shanghai, Imola and Catalunya have all sported various tweaks.

Not all of them have got the balance quite right, however. While some have added gravel traps which border the edge of the track, they are often separated from the white line which defines its limit by wide kerbs. As those kerbs can measure up to two metres across – the same size as an F1 car – drivers have found it is still possible to go beyond the track limits and gain an advantage, either by avoiding the gravel trap or brushing it so lightly they can still avoid losing time.

But turns nine and ten at the Red Bull Ring, once a textbook example of how not to police track limits, are now a model other tracks should copy. Not only because the strips of gravel on the outside discourages drivers from running wide, but because the narrower kerbs (engineered by painting over the inside part) mean drivers cannot fully cross the white line without ruining their lap time.

As a result, track limits infringements at these two corners during qualifying fell to almost nothing. In qualifying for the grand prix last year 45 track limits infringements occured at these two corners. This year there was only one, for Charles Leclerc who spun off and ruined his lap.

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Nonetheless the end of qualifying was overshadowed by a row over track limits. Oscar Piastri lost what would have been third on the grid when his final flying lap of 1’04.786 was deleted as the stewards ruled he went beyond track limits at turn six.

As the stewards rejected McLaren’s appeal as inadmissible, we’ll never know how they might have ruled had the facts of the decision been tested. However images of the incident show this was a fine call – if Piastri was beyond the white line it was only barely, as his right-hand wheels dipped into the gravel not quite enough to seriously slow his run though turn six.

This, however, shows why the turn nine and ten solution is more effective. The kerb is wider at turn six, making it possible for drivers to exceed track limits without losing time. Piastri wasn’t the only driver to lose a lap time here in qualifying – so did Yuki Tsunoda, Pierre Gasly and Leclerc.

In fact, the number of track limits violations at turn six in qualifying this year actually rose compared to last, from two to four – a strong argument for replicating the turn nine and ten solution at this point on the track as well.

Piastri was understandably miffed that despite all the praise directed at the changes to the final two corners, he still managed to find a spot on the track where it was apparently possible to fully cross the white line and still gain an advantage. However the early reviews have been very positive from other drivers, who want to see the same approach taken elsewhere.

“I’m huge fan of this solution,” enthused Formula 2 raced winner (and one-time F1 starter) Oliver Bearman, who said the new gravel traps and narrower kerbs meant drivers could judge how hard to push. “The fact is that if you’re able to stay within the track, or within the kerbs, you know it’s the track limits,” he said.

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“Personally, from a driver’s perspective, it’s really difficult to see whether you’re on top of the white line or whether you’re almost over it. So what they’ve done in tracks like Barcelona by increasing the width of the white line, is a good solution – but this is perfect.

“It’s a natural deterrent. A strip of gravel, you lose grip, you lose time by going on that. By running just up to it, you still stay within the track limits. It’s perfect.

“Last year, I don’t want to count how many track limits penalties there were – not least for me – I struggled with it. But this year, this is exactly what you want. You want to be able to use all the kerb and stay within the track limits. By reducing the width of the kerb, it’s perfect. It should really be a solution implemented everywhere. It’s perfect.”

If the huge improvement seen in qualifying is replicated in today’s grand prix, F1 can rightly regard this approach as a success, and push for this solution to be used at other track limits trouble spots.

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