Formula 1’s drivers are pleased to see the introduction of gravel traps at Piratella, Acque Minerali and Variante Alta on the iconic Imola circuit ahead of this weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
The addition of gravel to the run-off at these corners, introduced ahead of the FIA World Endurance Championship event at the circuit last month, is hoped to mitigate track limits issues.
Drivers have long been concerned that the excessive tarmac run-off at many modern circuits is the root cause for the bevvy of track limits penalties that are handed out during a GP weekend.
Kevin Magnussen has racked up many penalty points this season for leaving the track and gaining an advantage and led the praise for the inclusion of the gravel traps, likening it to his experiences racing in America.
The Danish driver has experience racing in both IndyCar and IMSA and said: “One thing that stood out was the tracks and how unbelievably different they are to F1 tracks.
“The cars over there, they are low as well. We bounce around in the sports cars over there. I don’t see it that different from here.
“I’m sitting next to a lot of drivers here, but I feel like we are very sensitive to track stuff in Formula 1,” Magnussen added during Thursday’s Imola press conference.
“I like the rough tracks. I prefer those, but also to the racing issue, tracks that have grass or gravel on the outside, you just put this natural limit in and it sorts itself out.
“So I feel like that is also an issue in Formula 1, just the tracks in general.”
Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was in attendance during Thursday’s Imola press conference alongside Magnussen and sang from a similar hymn sheet when it came to track limits issues and the importance of gravel traps.
“Just exactly as Kevin said, it just sets the limit,” the Frenchman claimed.
“And I think it works fine. You know, if you go over the limits, you get penalised and you can’t get away with it.
“So I think get rid of all the track limits topic, which is great.
“If you make a mistake, you pay the price for it. And I do believe that’s how it should be because with all this run-off and tarmacs, then you tend to sometimes get away with limits, with lock-ups, trying more stuff, go off the track, come back without really much disadvantage and kind of lost a bit the way it was in the past.
“And I think most drivers have been pushing to go in that direction. It’s just great to see F1 has reacted to it positively and decided to make these changes here.”
