Ferrari Driver Academy member Mick Schumacher has called for talks regarding the matter of track limits ahead of the next round of the 2022 Formula 1 season, the French Grand Prix at the Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet.
The topic proved to bey a major talking point at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, as many drivers had their lap times deleted on Saturday and were penalised for the offence in the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday. At the end of the weekend there was a total of 43 separate track limits violations noted by the race stewards in Spielberg, as Lando Norris, Zhou Guanyu, Pierre Gasly and Sebastian Vettel all received a five-second time penalty during the race and Scuderia Ferrari Spanish driver Carlos Sainz was only one warning away from a similar penalty.
On Friday, Red Bull’s Sergio Perez took part in the final stages of qualifying and finished in fourth place, but was later relegated outside the top ten due to a track limits violation in Q2, which meant all his Q3 lap times were deleted and his final grid position for the Sprint race was based on his best time from Q2.
After the Austrian Grand Prix, many drivers voiced their disapproval over regarding the way in which track limits were managed during the Spielberg weekend, with the likes of Lando Norris feeling that the FIA were “a bit stupid” with the way the rules were interpreted.
Ahead of the race at the Paul Ricard track, Haas driver Mick Schumacher has shared his thoughts on the matter and confirmed that track limits had previously been “a very big problem” during his years in Formula 2. At the same time, the Ferrari junior thinks the topic should be further discussed before the French Grand Prix: “It does look a bit silly if, for going a centimetre of track, you get a penalty of five seconds, and most of the time when you go off you don’t gain any lap time, which is worse,” Mick Schumacher said – “It’s something to be discussed, something to see if we can improve it for the next event because I think in Paul Ricard especially it will be a big concern.” – he added.
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The Ferrari junior was not the only one expressing his worries over how track limits might influence the French Grand Prix this weekend. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has also pointed out that it may become a “bigger issue” at the Circuit Paul Ricard: “There is a genuine time gain to be had [there]. Obviously, you’ve got acres of tarmac there, so it’s just inviting you to run offline.”- the Red Bull boss concluded.
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