Why FIA claim “hard” track limits are not possible in modern F1

Mazepin, Perez, Portugal — Photo: © LAT Images

Formula 1

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Why FIA claim “hard” track limits are not possible in modern F1

Drivers and teams are calling for consistent track limits

Ian Parkes & Sam Hall

Friday 14 May 2021 09:23 Updated: 11:46

FIA race director Michael Masi has revealed he would "love" to see hard track limits in place at every circuit but feels it will never be reality.

Over the first four races, a debate has raged over track limits which have altered over the course of a weekend. In Spain, Masi's event notes were changed even before the first practice session.

F1's regulations state the white lines around a track denote its edge, although due to the cars producing high levels of downforce and given their cornering speeds, drivers and team principals claim it is not possible to adhere to such a boundary.

Max Verstappen proposed that "hard limits" such as gravel or grass be used as they would punish a driver more than the swathes of asphalt that adorn most tracks.

Although agreeing with the Dutchman's suggestion, Masi explained this idea is a non-starter.

“Ideally we would love to have a hard limit everywhere," said Masi. "But the facts are with the circuits, it has been an ongoing evolution process.

"There are some places that are track-limits issues one year, aren’t the next and vice versa. It’s an ongoing issue that we’re working on with each of the circuits.

"It obviously requires significant investment from them from that perspective and yes, it would be in one sense, lovely to have walls everywhere as we will see next time in Monaco or in Baku."

Part of the problem is that MotoGP and other series require different safety measures to be in place compared to F1, meaning circuits cannot make changes to please only one party.

"Obviously, we are racing at different types of circuits all the time so when we look at everything from a safety perspective, we need to find the best balance of everything in each and every situation," added Masi.

“Each corner is different and each circuit is different.”