This change came a few hours too late for Max Verstappen: The FIA adjusted the track limits in three corners in Austin before the sprint shootout on Saturday – including turn 19, where the Formula 1 world champion took pole position in Q3 on Friday lost.
“There were [am Freitag] “Simply too many violations,” explains Helmut Marko on “Sky” and adds: “Unfortunately it only happened today, otherwise we would be in pole position.” The track limit regulation has remained the same, but the FIA has used a little trick.
The white line, which determines the track limits, has been widened in curves 9, 12 and 19. This now extends over part of the curbs, which means the track has effectively become wider and the pilots have more leeway.
The change is due to the fact that several pilots complained about the situation in the driver briefing on Friday. Previously, eight lap times were deleted in qualifying, including Verstappen’s supposed pole lap.
Formula 1: Helmut Marko praises the FIA decision
Although the change comes too late for the world champion, Marko welcomes it. “I think that in the last few races, as well as in Doha with the tire regulations, good decisions were made in the spirit of the sport,” praised the Austrian.
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner also takes a sporting approach to the change. “This will make the Grand Prix more exciting tomorrow,” he said on Sky about the canceled Verstappen time. The world champion will only start the race on Sunday from sixth place on the grid.
In fact, the change seems to significantly ease the track limit situation. In the sprint shootout on Saturday, where the new track limits were used for the first time, only one lap time from Pierre Gasly had to be deleted.
The new track limits should be used until the end of the race weekend.