A hot topic of discussion in the world of Formula 1 is currently that of track limits as many drivers seem to be exceeding them. Drivers are expected to stay within the confines of the race track, which is defined by the white line which runs around the perimeter of the circuit on both sides of the track. A number of drivers are running all four wheels of their cars beyond these white lines on certain corners of certain tracks, meaning they have exceeded the track limit, which is illegal. The problem is that they sometimes gain an advantage in time by doing so, and don’t seem to be punished harshly or regularly enough for this.
There have been a number of occasions this season where drivers have run slightly wide on the exit of corners which enables them to carry more speed and, thus, produce a quicker lap time. This should not be allowed. Charlie Whiting and his team of stewards are starting to stamp their authority on this issue but it seems that their ruling as to whether a driver gains an advantage or not is inconsistent.
In Austria many drivers were running wide on the exit of the penultimate corner. If they were found to have placed all four wheels of their car over the white line of the race track then they were deemed to have gained an unfair advantage. Lewis Hamilton, amongst others, ran wide on that corner on his first attempt at a flying lap in the final qualifying session and his time was voided. Rightly so.
The problem comes when in a race situation. Think back to Canada and Hamilton piling the pressure on Rosberg in the early stages of the race. Lewis had been catching Rosberg up at a rate of knots and found himself comfortably in the DRS zone. On one particular lap, at the end of the long back straight, Hamilton was right on Rosberg’s gearbox going into the braking zone for the chicane. In trying to defend his position Rosberg out-braked himself and cut the chicane. He gained a full second in time over Hamilton in pulling this manoeuvre and went unpunished for it. That is not right, but how do you punish him in that situation?
At Silverstone, Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel had a fantastic duel which lasted 10 laps. On every lap of that battle both drivers exceeded the track limits whilst jostling for position. Alonso was shown a black and white flag and given a warning; Vettel got away with nothing, despite exceeding track limits on three separate occasions on the lap he passed Alonso. The trend of running wide on the exit of corners continued in Germany and Hungary. Thankfully, Vettel was punished for running wide on the exit of the final corner at the Hungaroring, but it was by the astro-turf which sent him into a spin, not by the stewards and that is where the problem lies.
Yes, Charlie Whiting and the stewards should perhaps be more stringent, consistent and clear cut with their penalties and rules on exceeding track limits, but I accept that it is a difficult thing to manage and that drivers might not always gain an advantage depending on the nature of the corner.
So are there any solutions other than stricter rules?
An obvious one for me is to bring back grass and gravel traps. This would punish drivers who exceed track limits by slowing them down and would hopefully ensure that next time round they stay on the track. It’s a way of punishing and managing the drivers on track without the need for a stewards’ intervention.
Moreover, it would put an end to great corners around the world losing a challenging aspect to them. Spa and Monza are the next two races on the calendar and both have a number of fantastic corners, specifically Eau-Rouge and the Parabolica respectively. Eau-Rouge had its gravel trap replaced with tarmac run off a few years ago now, and only a few weeks back the same happened to the Parabolica which caused widespread dislike in the racing community.
The final corner at the Yas Marina circuit in Abu-Dhabi is another corner where drivers often exceed track limits and is one where they lose their lap time if they do. However, there is not one single gravel trap around either the Yas Marina circuit or the Sakhir International circuit in Bahrain. This is slightly baffling considering both these tracks are situated in the middle of the desert! They’re not exactly struggling for sand or small stones.
Of course a reason for the lack of gravel traps and grass is the safety of the drivers and this is paramount. It is essential that the drivers are as safe as possible but motorsport will never be without danger, and at a time where there are mumblings of Formula 1 being too safe I feel that the reincarnation of grass and gravel traps surrounding circuits instead of tarmac would be a safe enough alternative that actually punishes drivers for their mistakes and stops them exceeding track limits in order to gain an advantage.
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