Drivers’ lap times will be deleted if they go beyond turn 11 kerb

Formula 1 drivers will have their lap times deleted during qualifying if they are judged to have violated track limits at turn 11.

Revised instructions issued to drivers ahead of today’s running told them they most not completely cross the kerb at the exit of the left-hand corner with all four wheels.

“If a driver crosses the kerb on the exit of turn 11 during qualifying and, as a result, no part of the car remains in contact with the red and white section of the kerb, the lap time of the driver concerned will be deleted by the stewards,” says the revised event notes.

“During the race a black and white flag will be shown to any driver who clears the red and white section of the kerb three times, any further occurrence will then be reported to the stewards. Each time any car clears the red and white section teams will be informed via the official messaging system.”

A similar approach was taken at turn 19 during last weekend’s race at Austin. FIA race director said the arrangement came about because drivers wanted a hard-and-fast rule which indicated whether had obeyed track limits or not.

“The first bit of the kerb is 25 millimetres deep, the second bit is 50 millimetres deep. If you’ve got all four wheels on that I think it’s unlikely you’ll go faster.

“But if you put two wheels onto the asphalt there’s an argument that you’ll be getting some grip from the asphalt. Therefore if you’ve only got two wheels on the kerb and two wheels on the asphalt then you could say there’s a likely chance of gaining an advantage. That was the rationale behind it.

“I was perfectly happy to simply say to the drivers that we would only give a penalty or take away lap times if it’s clear you’ve gained an advantage. That’s the sort of general approach I’ve been trying to take this year to keep things running and not have to keep giving penalties for minor indiscretions.

“But they wanted something a little clearer than that, so that’s what I offered, and it worked reasonably well.”

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