The Austrian GP had no less than 43 infractions recorded for exceeding the track limit, and Max Verstappen questioned the application of the rule on the grounds that the driver gains a lap advantage
The Austrian GP was full of good fights, especially between Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc, but one detail stole the show: the track limit. The stewards did not let up, and handed out punishments to several drivers, not only in F1, but also in F2 and F3, who competed at the Red Bull Ring last weekend.
There were no less than 43 infractions recorded during the race in Spielberg. The reigning F1 champion was even warned for track limits, but was not punished - unlike Sebastian Vettel, Pierre Gasly, Guanyu Zhou, and Lando Norris. However, Verstappen was very critical of the "joke" that was the debate around the issue.
"Everyone has their opinions on certain subjects, but on track limits, the debate around that was a joke this weekend, not only in F1, but in F2 and F3," the Dutchman said. "It's easy to say from the outside that you have to stay inside the white line. It sounds easy, but it's not. When you go too fast into the corner, some of them are a little blind, and if you go a little bit too far forward, with worn tires, it's easy to go over the white line," he explained.
The punishments are applied on the grounds that the driver gains an advantage by going off the ideal track, but Verstappen questioned the veracity. "Do we really gain time? Maybe. And honestly, there are two or three corners where you can go out a little bit more. And I don't think that's a case for a penalty or anything like that."
He further ironized with a possible 'solution'. "Just put a wall or gravel around it, like at the exit of turn 6. It's great, because you punish yourself by going into the gravel if you go over the limit. These are things that need to be looked at to understand how to improve, also for the stewards and the other people involved in track limit enforcement," he suggested, also saying that it is very difficult to check the whole lap.
The drivers have been questioning a lot the race direction for the 2022 season, which adopted the relay system between Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas since the departure of Michael Masi. The lack of clarity on certain topics, however, has left many dissatisfied - Fernando Alonso, for example, questioned the decisions of the previous race in England, which had many disputes with drivers leaving the track and returning without any warning.
"This kind of thing doesn't seem to me to be good for the sport, and this is only one of the problems," the Red Bull driver continued. "Another thing is the racing incidents. But yes, for sure, we can do better. I think we will work on that, we will try to make the sport better," he concluded.