The FIA has incorporated new gravel traps and the inclusion of AI software to combat track limits abusers during this weekend’s Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix.
Last year’s race at the Red Bull Ring saw a gargantuan 1200 potential breaches of track limits noted and the FIA has sought to respond to the situation.
In what will come as a relief to the drivers concerned, a 2.5m wide gravel trap has been added to Turns 9 and 10 of the Red Bull Ring Austrian GP circuit.
As well as this, the outside kerb at Turn 4 has been narrowed to afford drivers less wiggle room before getting unstuck in the gravel.
“[Drivers] will know where the limit is,” explained FIA F1 Race Director Niels Wittich.
“That’s what they want and what they have asked for. They will get feedback, they will feel it when they get close to the gravel, and if they do dip a wheel onto the gravel it will penalise them because the car will be slower.
“It’s a natural deterrent and that has been the number one request from the drivers.
“Shanghai is the most recent area where we did that [in Turns 10, 12 and 17] and the feedback from the drivers
was very positive.”
The measures at the Turn 4 kerbs have been made “by moving the white line, so the distance to the gravel is now 1.8 metres,” said Wittich.
“Just to make sure, that even with, say, F3, if they put a wheel in the gravel, there’s no discussion with track limits. We have also moved the white lines in Turns 1, 3 and 6 to create the same 1.8-metre distance to the gravel.”
A semi-automated AI system, which has been trailed since Abu Dhabi last year will be used in conjunction with the FIA’s Remote Operations Centre to identify track limits breaches throughout the Austrian GP weekend.
To help identify when a car has breached the track’s edge, normally defined by a white line that blends between the white elements of the kerb, a blue line has been introduced to help refine the system.
“What you’ll see is that white line on the kerb has moved and now there a light blue line behind just to make it easy for the marshals, for the guys at the Remote Operations Centre (ROC) and for us in Race Control to identify when a driver’s over the limit, because then you have the white line, the light blue line, black tyre – there a clear visual difference,” said Wittich.
“We had the same blue lines in Barcelona, in Turns 5, 9, 12 and 13. As I said, the idea is to make it easy to identify if a tyre is off – a straight yes or no. The light blue line will help us just to differentiate between a driver being off or not.”
Wittich also noted how the implementation of the gravel traps will be evaluated to decide whether it can be made of use on other circuits on the 2024 Formula 1 Calendar.
The FIA F1 Race Director noted that the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas is a potential candidate.
“For example, In Austin, at the exit of Turn 19 there’s a very wide run-off and at the exit of 12 there’s a very wide asphalt run-off,” he said.
“We look at every circuit to see where improvements can be made.”
To mitigate safety concerns for other series, particularly MotoGP, where a thin gravel trap proposes a safety risk to two-wheeled prototype motorcycles, the gravel strips at Turn 9 and 10 are temporary and can be easily replaced with asphalt in time for Grand Prix motorcycle racing at the Red Bull Ring in August.
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