More track limits controversy in Mexico? The issue F1 can't resolve

Formula 1 is on its way to Mexico City, to a circuit featuring a long straight, a heavy braking zone, and an asphalt run-off. Or in other words, a track limits controversy in the making.

After years of opaque stewards’ decisions and unpopular race-deciding penalties, the issue of track limits is still overshadowing grands prix, with Lando Norris losing his podium place in Austin last weekend.

While some fans debate the merits of the penalty, many others find themselves bewildered by a series of seemingly inconsistent rulings at the United States Grand Prix.

Some drivers lunged past rivals and ran off the track without consequence; others made similar moves and were penalised. Then came the headline move as Max Verstappen defended his third place with trademark aggression from Lando Norris. When Norris pulled alongside down the back straight and attempted to make the move stick on the outside of Turn 12, Verstappen cut him off — running fast and wide at the corner so that both cars ran off the circuit.

Norris’s extra momentum brought him back on track ahead of Verstappen and team radios immediately crackled into life: the Red Bull driver argued that Norris should hand back the final podium place; Norris said that he had been forced wide, and his team told him that he had been ahead at the apex of the corner — and could therefore remain in position.

On the 56th and final lap of the race, stewards gave their verdict: Norris was to be given a five-second penalty for “leaving the track and gaining a lasting advantage”. As he finished 4.1sec clear of Verstappen, the McLaren driver dropped behind the reigning world champion in the final classification.

Jenson Button led the calls for better rules, although there’s little sign that anything will change ahead of this weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix. However, some circuit owners believe they have a solution that would prevent drivers running off the track in the first place.

What the rules say

Stewards assess potential racing infringements against driving standards guidelines, drawn up by racing’s governing body, the FIA. These were issued in early 2022, following several track limits controversies the previous year, to give drivers a better idea of the type of manoeuvres that would — or would not — incur a penalty. However, they are not strict rules, in recognition that each situation is unique.

The section that addresses overtaking on the outside states that cars being overtaken must leave space for the overtaking car if the latter is ahead at the apex of the corner (the point where cars are closest to the kerb):

“In order for a car being overtaken to be required to give sufficient room to an overtaking car, the overtaking car needs to have a significant portion of the car alongside the car being overtaken… When considering what is a ‘significant portion’, for an overtake on the outside of a corner, among the various factors that will be looked at by the stewards when exercising their discretion, the stewards will consider if the overtaking car is ahead of the other car from the apex of the corner.”

On this basis, Verstappen was under no obligation to leave any space for Norris, as the Red Bull was ahead of the McLaren at the apex.

However, the driving guidelines have more to say in two segments designed to ensure that reckless driving does not go rewarded. Firstly, for drivers looking to pass a car ahead:

“The overtaking manoeuvre must be done in a safe and controlled manner, while enabling the car to clearly remain within the limits of the track.”

A second sentence places a similar requirement on the driver in front:

“The car being overtaken must be capable of making the corner while remaining within the limits of the track.”

In the Verstappen and Norris incident, both cars went off the circuit; Norris saying that he only did so because he was blocked by Verstappen.

There’s one more area of the driving guidelines that applies to the Verstappen/Norris incident, which quotes the F1 sporting regulations. These state that drivers should not gain a lasting advantage by leaving the track. If they do, but then return the advantage (by giving a place back, for example), then the race director may take no further action.

What the stewards said

The stewards’ verdict, which was released an hour after the chequered flag fell at COTA, states that Norris had not complied with the very first criteria and therefore there was no requirement for Verstappen to give any room on the corner exit.

Debates over driving standards and track limit breaches ensued as early as lap one at COTA, as Verstappen rushed up the inside of Norris’s pole-sitting McLaren at Turn 1 — critically beating him to the apex, meaning he didn’t need to give Norris space at the exit.

But the extra pace Verstappen took into the corner pushed him wide and forced Norris off the circuit — leaving the door open for Charles Leclerc to inherit the lead and for Carlos Sainz to move up into third.

“He’s clearly pushed me out,” Norris fumed on team radio. “He had no intent to make the corner. Even he ran off the track, so I had to avoid crashing into him or him crashing into me.”

The stewards looked into the incident, but decided that no further action was required — potentially due to Verstappen being first to the apex; him gaining no lasting advantage, as he too lost positions; or it being ruled a first corner racing incident.

Verstappen vs Sainz — Lap 1, Turn 12

Not penalised 

Verstappen was bouncing over the kerb and onto the run off for a second time on lap one as he scrapped for second with Carlos Sainz.

As the pair approached Turn 12, Sainz dived for the inside line and was ahead at the apex of the corner while Verstappen tried to hang it out around the outside.

Having braked late, Sainz ran wide off the circuit and forced Verstappen off too. Upon returning to the track, Verstappen regained second-place.

On this occasion, however, neither driver had much to complain about. As Sainz was the driver performing the overtake using the inside line, the onus was on him to remain within track limits. As he ran both himself and the Dutchman wide, Verstappen had the right to reclaim second-place.

Russell vs Bottas — Lap 13, Turn 12 

Penalised

George Russell was the first of four drivers to be penalised for overtaking incidents in Austin when he attempted to pass Valtteri Bottas for 14th place. He dived for the inside line under braking at Turn 12 but ran wide and left the Sauber driver with no room at the corner exit, which led stewards to conclude that he had forced Bottas off track.

“The driving standard guidelines provide that when overtaking on the inside the driver must not force the other car off the track and must leave a fair and acceptable width for the car being overtaken,” said the stewards. “This did not occur on this occasion.”

In his post-race interviews, Russell acknowledged that by “the letter of the law” he was penalised correctly, but later stated that “anyone who knows racing knows it was not correct.”

Martin Brundle was among the first to voice his confusion with the stewards’ decision. “You can basically almost ensure that your rival gets a penalty,” he said. “If you just run off the track [at the first sign of being squeezed out] the car ahead of you is going to get a five second penalty. It doesn’t make any sense to me.”

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff was quick to link the decision with the Verstappen/Norris incident. “It is inconsistent,” Wolff told Sky Sports F1. “With Valtteri, it wasn’t even a race. [In the sprint] we saw a few of those incidents that were exactly the same and weren’t penalised when racing for positions, real positions actually. So receiving that penalty is completely odd and bizarre.

“I think we know why, but I can’t say that on television.”

The track limits solution

Given the apparently impossible task of drawing up a set of rules that can be applied to every overtaking scenario, some circuit owners have taken the different approach of ensuring that drivers who run off track can’t gain an advantage.

Gravel traps have been reintroduced to circuits including Spa, Imola and Austria, ready to sap the pace of any cars straying over kerbs.

In the past, large expanses of gravel were accused of making accidents worse by flipping cars, modern versions are more selectively placed. In Austria, this involved a narrow strip of gravel being laid on the outside of kerbs, beyond which remains asphalt, which gives drivers the chance to brake and steer their car back to the circuit after a big off.

The gravel can also be removed where required for other types of racing — particularly MotoGP.

Will track limits be a problem at the Mexican Grand Prix?

With the F1 grid battling within closely-matched clumps and a world championship up for grabs, another weekend of intense racing is expected in Mexico City.

The opening section of the circuit bears enough similarities to COTA’s Turn 12, to suggest that track limits could once more be a factor in the race.

The first corner comes at the end of a 0.75-mile straight, and the right-hander is a popular place to attempt a lunging overtake. Once again there’s a section of asphalt run-off, beyond which is grass — which drivers have previously used to cut back on to the track, bypassing the s-bends of the following two corners.

Verstappen did just that in 2016 while being pursued by Sebastian Vettel. He ultimately crossed the line in third, but received a five-second time penalty which demoted him to fourth.

At the start of the same Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg cut the first corner sequence, yet neither received a penalty and they went on to secure a 1-2 finish. Stewards later explained that both Mercedes “gained no lasting advantage” from the track limit breaches.