today, 08:54 | by Mike van Weert
Max Verstappen, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton have all had their say on the track limits at the Losail International Circuit. The drivers who start in the top three on Sunday find the track limits useless in their own way. Hamilton thinks they are not necessary on this circuit, Verstappen is more of a fan of the old-fashioned track limits and Russell simply wants a better solution in the future.
During the Qatar Grand Prix, track limits are again the subject of discussion. Earlier this year there was also a lot of discussion about the track limits during the race weekend in Austria. The Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring was characterized by more than a thousand cases that the race management had to analyze regarding the track limits. In Qatar the drivers also had difficulty keeping the car on the track. As a result, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were dropped from the first and second rows of the grid, and Sergio Pérez was unable to reach Q3.
Verstappen himself was not reprimanded because of track limits, but the Red Bull driver understands the problems with his colleagues. “It’s easy to just go over it,” Verstappen said at the press conference. The new curbs ensure that drivers are punished by going over the limit, but the Dutchman wants a different solution. ‘I don’t think we see track limits in Suzuka, for example, because it is old-fashioned. When you get off, there is immediately gravel.’
The Mercedes drivers were ultimately able to benefit from the problems at McLaren. Russell can take a seat next to Verstappen on the front row, while Hamilton joins in P3. The German racing team therefore did not exceed the track limits, but there was frustration. “I haven’t broken any track limits, but two races ago I hit the wall and lost a podium,” Russell said. “It’s certainly frustrating when we go to great circuits like this and it’s so hard to know where the line is. We need to find a better solution for the future.’
Hamilton happy with changes in Qatar, but it is not enough
Hamilton is a fan of the changes to the curbs, but the seven-time world champion also has his problems with enforcing the track limits. The Briton therefore agrees with the words of his colleagues. ‘I don’t feel like we need track limits on this circuit. Lando should actually be here. I think we can learn a lot from these curbs because we can bring these curbs to a lot of other circuits. You can use them as much as possible, but if you go over them you will lose time. So the limit shouldn’t necessarily be the white line,” Hamilton concludes.
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2023-10-07 06:54:00
#Verstappen #Mercedes #drivers #share #frustration #track #limits #Norris #sitting #Maximum
