The 2023 Formula 1 Austrian GP is done and dusted with Max Verstappen taking home another win at the home turf. However, the dominant display of the Dutchman was hardly the talk of the highly eventful weekend. The Sprint weekend saw the most number of penalties being handed over to the drivers across 3 days of racing. As many as 12 drivers received penalties for exceeding track limits at the Red Bull ring.
From the Sprint shootout to the main race, a plethora of changes ensued in the grid order pre and post-race as a result of multiple time penalties. It started with Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez facing time multiple deletions during the qualifying. So much so that Ocon bagged the record for most penalties by a driver in a race by the end of Sunday. Notably, Hamilton also lost a place after the main race as he fell prey to a 10-second penalty for exceeding track limits.
Not just the FIA, but drivers themselves were seen reporting fellow pilots for possible violations on the radio. Aston Martin ended up contesting the race result which was then looked into by the FIA to make suitable amends. The drivers also complained about certain areas in the Red Bull ring layout that were prone to track violations. These seemingly-inevitable issues were earlier addressed by the FIA after last year’s race at this venue.
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The FIA race director told the media about earlier suggestions to Austrian GPF bosses
After the highly controversial race, FIA has been under tremendous fire from the fans and team. The entire Formula 1 weekend saw a mammoth 1200 violations and a race result that was impeded for 5 hours. However, this isn’t a new concept at the Red Bull ring. Applying track limits has been an issue in the past as well. Moreover, to deal with it in a more effective manner, FIA laid down some suggestions to the track managers at the end of last year’s race.
As per F1 website AutoSport, “In light of issues at the 2022 Austrian GP, it has emerged that, as part of the FIA’s formal post-race report that evaluates each grand prix, Wittich wrote to Red Bull Ring chiefs to suggest that tweaks be made to the design of Turn 9 and Turn 10.”
However, as it turns out, the suggestions haven’t been paid heed to by the Red Bull ring bosses. It is primarily because this would create issues in holding MotoGP races which have long preferred asphalt run-off areas.
After an eventful race in Spielberg, the paddock is all set to move to Silverstone next week. Tell us how excited are you for the second European leg. Comment below.
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Editors pick
