Verstappen wants "hard limit" solution to F1's 'confusing' track limits

Track limits have dominated much of the early season talk and detracted from a great scrap between Red Bull’s Verstappen and Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton at the opening three races, with inconsistencies causing a row.

Verstappen’s title bid has already suffered several setbacks due to track limits transgressions, which Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has described as being “brutal” and “pretty expensive” for his side.

After overtaking Hamilton for the lead outside of track limits at Turn 4 in Bahrain, Verstappen was forced to give the place back. The Dutchman then missed out on pole position at Imola due to having a lap time deleted, and lost the fastest lap bonus point in last weekend’s Portuguese Grand Prix after going off at Turn 14 on his way to finishing second behind Hamilton.

“Some tracks are just a bit more difficult to police really with track limits but I think we do need to find a solution,” Verstappen said of the track limits debate ahead of this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix.

“Of course I understand some tracks we race together with MotoGP and of course they want a bit different kerbs to what we like. But I think we need a middle way that works for both.

“With our cornering speed basically we can abuse the whole track with the grip we have with the cars, which just makes it really difficult sometimes to really judge proper track limits.

“From my side, I think we should try and put a bit more gravel in place but then sometimes that’s not what tracks want. With track days you have people go off and the gravel comes on track and they need to clean it, and it costs money to put it back in place.

“It is sometimes a bit confusing also from the outside where some places you run on the kerb, some places are policed on the right line. I think we can make it a lot better by making sure there is a hard limit where you go off a kerb or whatever.”

For this weekend’s race at the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya, track limits will be monitored at Turns 1, 2, 13, 14 and 15.

Asked if there was anything Red Bull needed to do to get a better handle of track limits, Verstappen replied: “I don’t think there is anything to be done to be on top of it.

"In Bahrain there was some misunderstanding between teams, on what was allowed and what wasn’t, but you can also see it differently.

“I’m just trying to get everything out of the car when we are not on the same level as Mercedes. I can also just easily not be on that topic of using track limits or whatever but then I’m quite comfortably behind the Mercedes, which I don’t like.

“I always try to get the best possible result out of it. I went twice basically outside of the track limit where it cost me a pole and a fastest lap, but it’s also because I don’t settle for second or third.”