“I think the problem is the nature of the circuit” : Christian Horner wary of F1’s ‘track limit’ issue at Paul Ricard
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The Paul Ricard track
43 track limits violations were discovered at the Red Bull Ring at the Austrian Grand Prix last week, and more deleted lap times were found during qualifying, most notably Red Bull driver Sergio Perez deleting his Q2 lap time after the qualifying session was over. Reigning F1 World Champion Max Verstappen referred to it as “a bit of a joke” due to the multiple track limits infractions caused by some of Spielberg’s tarmac and Astroturf run-offs.
“I don’t think we should have this, ah you went 1mm over, that’s a penalty or whatever. Then just add a wall or bring some gravel back. It doesn’t look good for the sport as well,” said the Dutch driver. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner worries that the situation will only worsen in the French Grand Prix.
Due to its reputation for having wide tarmac run-offs placed all around the track, a design feature tied to its heritage as one of Europe’s safest courses used for testing, the track at Le Castellet is not the most well-known site on the schedule.
Also Read: “I don’t think Mercedes like our cars going round the outside at Turn 4″ : Christian Horner
Christian Horner gives his take on the Paul Ricard track
Team principal of Austria-based racing team Red Bull Racing, Christian Horner claims that because Paul Ricard provides more chance to acquire lap time than the Red Bull Ring, it will be more more enticing for straying off-track, which might imply another busy weekend for the stewards.
“I think the problem is the nature of the circuit invites the drivers to use the track limits. And of course, there were many, many drivers that were infringing that over the weekend. I think my concern isn’t so much here, I think Ricard will be a bigger issue in that there is a genuine time gain to be had. And obviously, you’ve got acres of tarmac there, so it’s just inviting you to run offline,” added Horner.
Paul Ricard is a track where it is possible to make up positions and with a stronger PU it can go on the attack.
— Junaid #JB17 (@JunaidSamodien_) July 13, 2022
Prior to F1’s comeback to the south of France, Mick Schumacher of Haas reiterated Horner’s worries. “It’s something to be discussed, something to see if we can improve it for the next event because I think in Paul Ricard especially it will be a big concern. “It does look a bit silly if for going a centimeter of track you get a penalty of five seconds, and most of the time when you go off you don’t gain any lap time, which is worse,” mentioned Schumacher.
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Rishika Saha
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