F1, circuits must resolve track limits farce – Vasseur

Oct.12 (GMM) The unresolved track limits issue in Formula 1 is “unacceptable” and “inappropriate”.

That is the word from Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur, following a repeat of what he called a “penalty festival” in Qatar last weekend – echoing the even more farcical situation earlier this year in Austria.

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem is furious about the situation, warning that circuits that cannot resolve the problem of containing drivers within the white lines may result in their expulsion from the calendar.

Ferrari boss Vasseur appears to thoroughly agree.

“I imagine what it must be like for the viewers on the screens,” said the Frenchman. “Most of them have no idea what is happening – they just see ‘Gasly 5 seconds’, ‘Gasly 10 seconds’, ‘Gasly 15 seconds’.”

“It is unacceptable that an organiser like the one in Qatar invests so much money in modernising the race track and then we experience such a hail of penalties,” Vasseur added.

“For me, this is inappropriate for Formula 1. We have to do something.”

He admitted, however, that the “intense heat” in Qatar affected the concentration and even the vision of some drivers, exacerbating the problem.

“But we have to find a fundamental solution to this problem,” Vasseur insisted. “None of this is good for the show.”