Explained: The Austrian GP track limits fiasco that made F1 look ridiculous

A final classification was not issued until five hours after Red Bull’s 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Max Verstappen took the ch💎equered flag to claim y🦩et another victory in what is turning out to be a truly dominant campaign.
Following a lengthy post-race stewards’ investigation, 12 extra penalties were dished out to eight drivers, changing the result.
But how ജdid F1 get tied up in a shambles over track limits? We’ve unpacked everything that happened on a chaotic day in Austria…
But first, what are the track limits rules?
The track limit is the white line which defines the edge of the circuit, acting as a boundary for the field of play, similar to the markings on a football or🌠 rugby pitch.&🌟nbsp;
Track limits are imposed to ensure drivers do not gain an unfair advantage by finding a faster route around the circuit, while they also act as a safety fe𝓡ature.
Track limits vary from race to race depending on the nature of the circuit but driver🐽s are deemed to have exceeded track limits if they put all four wheels over the defined boundary - usually the white line.
Article 33.3 of the Sporting Regulations reads: “Dr♐ivers must make ever𒊎y reasonable effort to use the track at all times and may not leave the track without a justifiable reason.
“Drivers will be judged to have left the track if no part of th👍e car remains in contact with it and, for the avoidance of doubt, any white lines defining the track edges are considered to be part of the track but the kerbs are not.
“Should a car leave the track the driver may re-join, however, this may only be done when it is safe to do so and without gaining any lasting advantage. At the absolute discretion of the Race Director a driver may be given the opportuni🍸ty to give back the whole of any advantage he gained by leaving the track.”

What penalties are handed out for offences?
Multiple cameras and sensors are installed aꦜt each circuit to keep track of any violations.&n🐻bsp;
Breaches that𝕴 occur in practice or qualifying will result in a driver seeing their lap time get deleted.
This was a major talking point of Friday’s Austrian Grand Prix qualifying, which saw 47 laps deleted for track limits abuse. 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Sergio Perez lost three of his laps iജn Q2 for exceeding track limits and failed to progress to Q3 for the fourth straight ra🌳ce.
For the grand prix itself, a different approach is taken. Drivers are given a w𓂃arning by race control for their first two infringements, before being shown a black-and-white flag on their third indiscretion.
A fourth offence will automatically trigger a stewards’ investigation and usually results in a five-second time penalty. Further 💧infringements will be hit with extra time penalties.
What happened in the 2023 Austrian GP?
168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Lewis Hamilton was the first driver to be penalised ༺for exceeding track limits during 🍬Sunday’s race.
The seven-time world champion found himself at the centre of 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Lando Norris’ barrage of complaints as the McLare𝓀n driver provided running commentary on H💞amilton’s off-track excursions.
Hamilton protested that his Mercedes car “wouldn’t turn” but he was slapped with a five-second time penalty for repeated offences. Following his penalty, Hamilton was heard reporting many of his rivals for going off-track, including Norris and Perez.&nbꩲsp;
Ferrari’s 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Carlos Sainz was another high-profile track limits of𓃲fender who was punished by r🌌ace control during the race.
Multiple track limits warnings were issued but out of the 20 drivers, only Mercedes’ 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:George Russell and Aston Martin’s168澳洲5最新开奖结果: Fernando Alonso escaped without comitting&nbs𒀰p;a single violation.

Aston Martin’s protest amid 1200+ offences
Shortly after the race concluded, Asto🐟n Martin confirmed they had lodged a protest against the provisional൩ race classification.
Aston Martin initially remained tight-lipped over the exact reason behind their 🍷appeal, but the FIA soon confirmed the team had claimed a number of cars were not properly penalised for repeatedl♚y breaching track limits.
Their protest was successfully upheld by the FIA, who admitted that race control was unable to review every report of track limits violations, revealing there were “well ove✤r” 1200 individual cases across the 71 laps.
F1’s governing body said they were already holding an immediate post-race review into the inc🌱idents prior to Aston Martin’s appeal, describing the situation as “unprec🅷edented”.
Final race result changes
Having concluded their investigation, the FIA handed out an add🤡ition💦al 12 penalties, taking the total of track limits penalties up to 20 for the race.
Sainz and Hamilton 💦were among the most notable drivers to be demoted, with 10-secon꧒d penalties applied to their respective finishing times.
Sainz fell👍 back two positions from fourth to siꦦxth, dropping him behind Norris and Alonso, who was elevated to P5.
Hamilton, who finished seventh on the road, traded places with Mercedes teammate Russell as he slip♍ped to eighth.
Alpine’s168澳洲5最新开奖结果: Esteban Ocon copped a huge 30-second time penalty for four separate offences, while teammate 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Pierre Gasly, Williams duo168澳洲5最新开奖结果: Alex Albon and 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Logan Sargeant, and the AlphaTauri pair of 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Nyck de Vries and 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Yuki Tsunoda were also punished.

The stewards explained the ꦍretrospective penalties had been applied as follows:
- For four infringements, a five-second time penalty; for five infringements, a 10-second time penalty.
- Then a “reset” has been allowed due to the excessive number of infringements. The counting of infringements restarts. After another four infringements, a five-second time penalty will apply; after five, a 10-second time penalty.
The successful protest ultimately gained Aston Martin an additional three points, with Alonso and teammate168澳洲5最新开奖结果: Lance Stroll each being promoted one position.
As a result, Aston Martin have closed to within three points of second-placed Mercedes in the 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:constructors’ championship standings.
How will F1 avoid a repeat in future?
The debate over track limits has been a dominating tal🐟king point in Austria for many years due to the nature of the corners at the Red Bull Ring.
Several solutions are used to deter drivers 🐎from running wide, with some corners featuring sausage kerbs, and others having gravel traps or🍬 asphalt run off areas.
Turns 9 and 10 were at the heart of the track limits drama surrounding the ꦓ2023 Austrian Grand Prix. At these high-speed right-handers, drivers are able to run wide and potentially gain an advantage.
Following the events of th🌠e weekend, the FIA has urged the operators of the Red Bull Ring to install gravel traps at its final corners.
“In order to add💝ress the iss🌟ue for future events we will renew our recommendation to the circuit to add a gravel trap at the exit of turns nine and 10,” they said.
“We ﷽note that while this is not a straightforward solution in relation to other series that race here, it has p🦩roved to be very effective at other corners and circuits with similar issues.”
Expect track limits chatter to continue to be the talk of the paddock heading into this week’s British Grand Prix at Silveꦚrstone.


Lewis r𝓰egularly attends Grands Prix for wuqian0821.com around the world. Often reporting on the action from the ground, Lewis tells the stories of the people who matter in the sport.