Aston Martin Austrian GP upheld and 1,200+ track limit violations to review
2nd July 2023Aston Martin’s protest has been upheld and allegedly there are over 1,200 track-limits violations which have not been caught by Race Control.
When you thought the Austrian Grand Prix was over and you were preparing yourself for another race week, think again. After the provisional classification of the Austrian GP results was released, Aston Martin protested.
Following a review from the stewards, this protest has been upheld and the stewards acknowledged a number of track limit violations which were not ‘referred to the stewards’ for potential penalties.
According to the FIA, the number of track-limit violations throughout the 71-lap race has amassed over 1,200 potential offences where all four wheels went off the track.
In the race, eight drivers were slapped with five-second time penalties apart from Alpha Tauri’s driver Yuki Tsunoda who was slapped with a 10-second time penalty for repeat offences.
In the decision report, after Aston Martin’s protest was upheld, the FIA said:
“An examination of the list of deleted lap times provided to the Stewards by Race Control, revealed that a number of track limit infringements had not previously been referred to the Stewards for potential penalty.
“It was determined that some of these infringements warranted a penalty that was not previously applied when the Provisional Classification was published.
“These penalties will be reflected in the Final Classification.”
In the final classification, if any drivers obtain five-second time penalties – or more in the case of repeat offences – a number of drivers and teams may benefit from the protest.
The problem is presented by F1’s white line ruling which determines the edge of the track as the white lines which circulate the venues. The ruling came into force last year after a number of inconsistencies were presented throughout the years with circuit-specific rulings, on a corner-by-corner basis.
While the ruling makes track limits more uniformed across the board, the fast right-handers of turns nine and 10 at the Austrian Red Bull Ring made things difficult for drivers to judge the positioning of their cars with a number of drivers going all four-wheels off the track.
Friday’s qualifying proved this may be troublesome ahead of the main event as a number of drivers saw their lap times being deleted. One shocking example was Red Bull’s Sergio Perez. The Mexican driver failed to set a representative lap time on the board, in Q2, as he exceeded track limits on his flying laps.
Perez started the race down in 15th while his teammate, defending world champion, Max Verstappen started on pole. Fortunately, Perez was able to recover to third place by the chequered flag in the grand prix.
It has been suggested by the FIA to install gravel traps at the most notorious corners on the circuit, turns nine and 10, to deter drivers from going all four-wheels off the circuit.
However, this suggestion may prove problematic as the Red Bull Ring holds competitions for other sports such as the MotoGP.
That’s all for the article: Aston Martin Austrian GP upheld and 1,200+ track limit violations to review!
Read more Formula 1 here:
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- Alpha Tauri expected to change F1 team name ahead of 2024
- Red Bull head home for 2023 F1 Austrian Grand Prix
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