F1 team bosses to hold meeting to discuss track limit rules
Formula 1 team principals will discuss whether or not track limit rules need to change, during their regular race weekend get-together in Spain on Saturday.
At every grand prix event, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali meets with team bosses for an informal chat about the latest developments within the sport.
And on the back of the track limits controversy from Portugal last weekend, when Max Verstappen lost a pole position and fastest lap for running wide, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner says that the topic will come under the spotlight.
For although there is no debate over Verstappen breaking the rules after running off the circuit in Portimao, Horner thinks that the consistency of how track limits are applied needs to be discussed.
He does not like the fact that at some corners drivers are allowed to run out over the kerbs, while at others the edge of the track is defined as the white line.
Speaking to Sky F1 on Friday, Horner said: “I think the main thing for us is that we were over the track limits. So obviously we had lap times [in Portugal] or overtaking places [in Bahrain] taken off us.
“But I think it's just the consistency from track to track, from corner to corner. If it's difficult for the teams to understand, I'm not quite sure how you're supposed to explain it to the fan.
“So for us, [it’s] to have a white line or a situation when you're either in or you're out, like in other sports, rather than saying, ‘well, it's okay this corner, but it's not okay at that corner.’ It's terribly confusing, and I think there will be more discussion tomorrow between the team principals on it.”
Horner explained that it had become very difficult for drivers to perfectly judge how far they could run over kerbs with their cars, because of the lack of visibility from the cockpit.
“[When you are] pushing like hell, it's very difficult to judge where that white line is when you're actually in the car,” he said.
“It's not like you've got a rumble strip or anything like that. Max was absolutely on the limit, which is what you want. And it was the smallest of margins, obviously.
“He missed out, but it is what it is. I think there's plenty to learn from it, moving forward, not just for us as a team, but also for the circuits and the FIA.”
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