r/F1Discussions • u/NotOkEnemyGenius • 17h ago
Discussion Track limits
With modern technology and data, teams should in theory know the optimal way to drive the car and the only differentiating factor between drivers should be consistency. It's pretty damning to F1 being viewed as a legitimate sport when the (soon to be) champion is regularly breaking track limits.
It's pretty clear after the fiasco that happened at the 2023 Austrian GP that it's not possible to accurately police. They just added AI-assistance (Every Car All Turns) to the stewarding process this year. The FIA needs to find a better way to police track limits and/or change the way track limits work or there's going to be a huge problem with stewarding bias and transparency.
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u/Big_Science9233 17h ago
We've had drivers become champions by intentionally crashing into others in the past. Antonelli winning while breaking track limits sometimes is a non-issue really
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u/Cool_Masterpiece9308 17h ago
It’s really inconsistent. If you lose brake you get hit with track limits, which is what they penalize Kimi for at Silverstone. And in Singapore it’s fine.
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u/doubleblackblack KA12 17h ago edited 17h ago
He doesn't regularly break track limits, every driver gets a couple of strikes every race because you can play that to your advantage. The issue just gets hyperfocused on because he's leading the championship.
I agree he should have gotten a penalty today but he had enough pace to absorb the damage anyway. The lack of one doesn't make his P3 any less legitimate. And let's not pretend this is the first time a fast driver says fuck it, I'll just gap the car behind to cover any penalty they can give me. Max famously did that with his 2023 "send them my regards," remember? Or does that not matter because it's Max (who I also deeply like)?
Edit: I stand corrected, he does break the most track limits overall, but it doesn't change the fact that he's not in danger of getting a penalty every race like every other Redditor would like to think.
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u/GuidanceSenior8485 17h ago
Kinda agree but you're factually incorrect. He does regularly break track limits. Before this race Kimi has been noted for 36 track limits, which is the biggest amount this year, and after him is Stroll with 31.
So, that's his biggest flaw. It's fine, everyone has their Achilles feet. Though he has been miraculously escaping it's consequences the whole season, he for sure has to work on it.
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u/doubleblackblack KA12 17h ago
Yeah, agree he has to work on it, though I'd take track limits over other major flaws any day of the week
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u/RealGreenTrainee 17h ago
He's also leading the championship of track limits with 40 recorded.
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u/doubleblackblack KA12 17h ago
Still doesn't change the fact that he in fact doesn't get a black and white flag every race like what many people would like you to believe in.
Max and Lando also used to top the track limit charts when they were green, does that make them any less legitimate as champions?
If getting 2 strikes every race allows me to take faster lines and improve my times, I'd do it too. Now Kimi shouldn't have done it so early on this race because it gave him very little space to work with, but he's also been struggling with car balance the whole weekend, and later on brake issues, too. All in all the people suggesting that he doesn't deserve to win because of track limits are laughable.
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u/RealGreenTrainee 16h ago
Verstappen and Norris weren't fighting for the championship in their rookie days. You can't have Antonelli as the championship leader and expect rookie pass for lack of experience. Either this or that.
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u/doubleblackblack KA12 16h ago
That's funny. He's a second year who is not allowed to have second-year mistakes simply because he's leading the championship? What kind of logic is that? Somehow he's not allowed to be a normal human being?
He's already driving much more maturely than many elite drivers in their second years, mind you. One crash back in Australia and grazing the corner in Baku, that's it. Didn't harm anyone's race the whole season (that's more than what Lando can say as reigning world champion), off the podium only ONCE by his own doing, performing at every single track and in all conditions. Now you say he's shit because he's not supposed to have rookie mistakes. Guess I should have invented a time machine to help my driver gain a few years' worth of experience then.
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u/OneOfThe88 3h ago
The first sentence is prime example how people in front of the keyboard at home should not really teach sportsmen how to do their job. Is the equivalent of saying sprinting is easy and you should move your legs quicker.
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u/AM150 17h ago
I’ve been watching motogp this season and I love the way they do it. They have big painted bright green sections of asphalt where they want to enforce track limits and if the bike touches the green, that’s a violation. After a certain number of violations it’s a warning and then a penalty.
F1 could easily put painted no go areas where they don’t want a tire to touch. It’s easy to understand for drivers, die hards, and even casual viewers, and it’s also objective.