F1 Austrian Grand Prix has a track limits problem and this is why

Photo: © IMAGO

Austrian Grand Prix

F1 Austrian Grand Prix has a track limits problem and this is why

What's the deal with track limits at the Red Bull Ring?

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Sunday 28 June 2026 09:30 Updated: 09:50

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The F1 2026 championship returns to the Red Bull Ring today (Sunday June 28) for the Austrian Grand Prix, where track limits have become a major piece of work for the FIA in recent week.

In 2023, a ridiculous amount of drivers were slapped with time penalties after the race due to track limit infringements, causing circuit changes to be made for the following year.

So, what are track limits and why are they such an issue at the Red Bull Ring? Here’s everything you need to know ahead of this year's event in the Styrian mountains.

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What are track limits in F1?

Track limits are the white lines painted onto an F1 circuit around the edge of the track that are used to ensure a driver stays within them during practice sessions, qualifying, sprint events and of course a grand prix.

A driver is considered to have exceeded track limits if they put all four wheels over the agreed boundary and if an offence is committed at a place where the stewards feel an advantage could have been gained, warnings and eventually penalties can be issued.

If a driver is found to have left the track without a justifiable reason multiple times during a competitive session, they will be shown a black and white flag to indicate they are on their final warning before being at risk of a penalty.

Track limits are still enforced during practice sessions but often end with a driver's lap time being deleted instead of them or their team being penalised like they would be in a competitive outing.

Most recently, championship leader Kimi Antonelli was shown the black and white flag after exceeding track limits on three occasions at the Barcelona GP last time out.

After failing to amend his racing approach, the 19-year-old was noted once again for exceeding track limits and has handed a five-second time penalty after the race as a result.

However, because the Mercedes star had suffered a DNF on the final laps of the event in Spain, his penalty did not impact his race result.

Punishments often come in the form of either five or 10-second time penalties, as a whopping eight drivers will remember after the issue of track limits reared its head at the 2023 Austrian GP.

Max Verstappen was previously a harsh critic of the FIA's approach to track limits in Austria

What happened with track limits at the 2023 Austrian GP?

Following the 2023 edition of the 71-lap event in Austria, the FIA stewards announced a shocking eight drivers had been found guilty of exceeding track limits on multiple occasions.

As a result, five and 10-second penalties were applied to their finishing time, wreaking havoc with the final classification.

Red Bull star Max Verstappen complained of track limits in Austria in particular the previous year, stating they had become 'a joke' at the Red Bull Ring.

This should have perhaps served as a warning to the FIA that track limits would become such a contentious issue in Spielberg, especially given that the Dutchman's complaint mentioned track-specific issues such as low visibility through high-speed corners in the Styrian hills.

Ironically, Verstappen was not one of the eight drivers who were penalised in 2023 for the infringement on a year that saw over 1,200 potential breaches of track limits in total across the weekend.

The official reason for the FIA stewards' issuing a whopping 12 penalties after the race stated: "Penalties have been applied as follows: For four infringements, a five second time penalty; for five infringements, a 10 second time penalty.

"Then a 'reset' has been allowed due to the excessive number of infringements. The counting of infringements restarts. After another four infringements, a five second time penalty will apply; after five, a 10 second time penalty.

"The Stewards very strongly recommend that a solution be found to the track limits situation at this circuit."

Here's how the nightmare looked from the stewards' point of view once they had reviewed the overwhelming amount of flagged potential breaches:

F1 2023 Austrian GP Track Limits Penalties
No.	Driver	Team	Penalty
1	Carlos Sainz	Scuderia Ferrari	10 second time penalty
2	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes AMG-Petronas F1 Team	10 second time penalty
3	Pierre Gasly	BWT Alpine F1 Team	10 second time penalty
4	Alexander Albon	Williams Racing	10 second time penalty
5	Esteban Ocon	BWT Alpine F1 Team	5 second time penalty
6	Esteban Ocon	BWT Alpine F1 Team	10 second time penalty
7	Esteban Ocon	BWT Alpine F1 Team	5 second time penalty
8	Esteban Ocon	BWT Alpine F1 Team	10 second time penalty
9	Logan Sargeant	Williams Racing	10 second time penalty
10	Nyck de Vries	Scuderia AlphaTauri	10 second time penalty
11	Nyck de Vries	Scuderia AlphaTauri	5 second time penalty
12	Yuki Tsunoda	Scuderia AlphaTauri	5 second time penalty

What changes were made to track limits at the Red Bull Ring after 2023 nightmare?

Gravel was added to the Red Bull Ring after eight drivers were punished for exceeding track limits in 2023

Following the problematic post-race situation which was triggered by track limits in 2023, the FIA requested track changes to prevent a similar outcome ever happening again.

After the Red Bull Ring agreed to implement natural deterrents, gravel was added to the circuit in the hope that drivers would think twice before exceeding the track limits through fear of getting beached in the gravel trap.

The 2.5-metre gravel strips were added for 2024 behind the kerbs at Turns 9 and 10, something which has been implemented once again for this year's event.

At Turn 4, the track also moved the white line to make the distance to the gravel less than two metres (the size of the cars at the time) so that drivers could no longer attempt to squeeze between the white line and the gravel.

The gravel strips are temporary and are added each year specifically for the F1 race weekend, so don't be surprised if you tune into MotoGP to see the pesky Turns 9 and 10 to be gravel-free.

Are track limits still an issue for F1 race in Austria?

Track limits have already been mentioned early on in the 2026 Austrian GP weekend, with Sky commentators noting the gravel being kicked up by drivers during FP2.

Discussing the changes as a positive thing, Karun Chandhok noted that the Red Bull Ring had done well to adapt following the 2023 controversy.

The issue hasn't been removed completely due to the track layout and the aforementioned fast corner exits, but by adding gravel traps, the chance of eight drivers being penalised at the Red Bull Ring for exceeding track limits has been significantly reduced.

The asphalt runoffs at the side of the track previously encouraged drivers to make use of the full circuit without fear of car damage, but in theory, this has now been eradicated at multiple sections due to the presence of gravel.

Technically, Turns 9 and 10 in particular could still be an issue in 2026 given that a driver could be rewarded by a quicker lap time should they be able to partially dip their car into the gravel without taking damage at the sweeping right-hand turns.

But this would be a gamble no sensible driver would take intentionally.

However, track limits aren't always breached on purpose. Previously, drivers often found it tricky to judge from the cockpit how far over the white line they were given the size of their modern machinery.

This issue should be less prevalent in 2026 however thanks to the new regulations introducing smaller cars for the sport's new era.

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Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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