Former F1 drivers rally for natural track limits at Red Bull Ring
Jul.5 - The Red Bull Ring will "definitely" respond to ensure that a repeat of the farcical track limits phenomenon will never again mar an Austrian GP.
F1's governing body, the FIA, is already recommending that new gravel run-off be placed at the most contentious corners for 2024 - turns 9 and 10.
"Apparently 1200 offenses were counted," Red Bull's Dr Helmut Marko told Osterreich newspaper. "That's crazy.
"That's why I'm behind something happening by the next grand prix in 2024," he added. "There will definitely be a solution."
Officials at the Red Bull-owned circuit in Spielberg, meanwhile, told Kleine Zeitung newspaper that they are in "constant contact with the FIA" to find "a common path for the future".
Timo Glock, a former F1 driver, said it's not race officials' fault that the festival of warnings, penalties, frustration and confusion struck last weekend's event.
"Obviously it's brutally difficult when 20 cars are driving in a circle and you have to keep an eye on every car. Every lap at turns nine and ten," he told Sky Deutschland.
"After a few laps the human eye slows down a bit and can't keep up."
Another former driver is Alex Wurz, whose father once owned the track - then called the A1 Ring. Wurz, 49, now heads a circuit design company.
"I'm in favor of natural track limits with grass and gravel," he told Kronen Zeitung. "You can also do things with the kerbs."
✅ Check out more posts with related topics:
Just use the same surface material as in Bahrain, which is both effective & safe or alter the last two corners into a single long corner, like Yas Marina's T9, that would follow the natural driving trajectory & thus help with staying on track at the corner exit.
Arm the corner workers. Shoot out the tires of offending drivers. That will get compliance from these guys who learned about track limits in bloody racing school. Enough whining. If you cannot stay on track, slow down. Simple.
Maybe a few big tyre punching spikes on the outside of the corners? A few big blow-outs ought to sort it out! ;)