McLaren team boss Seidl warns white line track limits "just doesn't work"

McLaren

Seidl warns white line track limits "just doesn't work"

Track limits have been a constant talking point this year

Sam Hall

Monday 31 May 2021 16:03 Updated: 11:45

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McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl has claimed using white lines to police track limits "just doesn’t work".

The subject of track limits is one that refuses to go away this season, with the topic hotly debated at each of the first four races this year before Monaco offered a respite from the discussion.

The upcoming race in Azerbaijan may extend that breathing space but when F1 moves to France and Austria, the furore will no doubt be rekindled.

“In the end, it is clear that there is no short-term solution available," said Seidl.

"From our point of view, from McLaren’s side, we simply have to accept the situation we are in at the moment with regard to different tracks with different track characteristics with different kinds of corners and also made for different categories.

“In order to go around these tracks in a safe way you need to enforce the track limits but I think also you need to be realistic.

"You can only enforce it in certain areas where you actually have to do the policing for safety reasons or to make sure that no one can get a lasting advantage."

Although FIA regulations state the white lines denote the edge of the track, Seidl does not believe the markings are an effective way of defining the boundary of where a driver can or cannot place his car.

"The idea of just using the white lines for the entire track for a more simple way of policing track limits just doesn’t work because we would have millions of infringements and most of them would not really matter so I think that is not the way forward," affirmed Seidl.

“As long as we always know before the sessions what the track limits are and how they get policed, as long as then the policing happens in a consistent way - which from our point of view is happening - we are fine with it from a sporting side."

Seidl has suggested F1 should "install track limits at all tracks in future which give you an automatic physical track limit in terms of losing performance whenever you go off".

He added: “In the end, you need to find a pragmatic way and that is what we have in place at the moment.”