As complex as Formula 1’s rules can be, there are few regulations as simple to understand as the boundaries of the track.
Each grand prix circuit is defined by the white lines that run either side of the asphalt. Stray beyond those limits, as you’re effectively taking a short cut or breaking through an invisible wall that would otherwise keep you within the track.
For years, F1’s approach to track limits was complicated and controversial. Certain corners were treated differently to others due to the nature of the kerbs or the exit of the corners naturally drawing drivers beyond the confines of the white lines through their natural racing line.
However, when the FIA installed Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas as the sport’s new race directors for 2022, the governing body also made a fundamental change to the how they would assess track limits infringements. Citing article 33.3 of the Sporting Regulations – which states that drivers “must make every reasonable effort to use the track at all times and may not leave the track without a justifiable reason” – the race director’s event notes for each round have simply stated that “the white lines define the track edges.” From the opening round of that year’s championship in Bahrain and up until the last round in Abu Dhabi last November, that has been the straightforward approach taken towards track limits in the sport.
But despite that seemingly simple interpretation of the rule, track limits has continued to be a major recurring headache in the sport, both for drivers and the FIA. In 2023, there was no let up of track limits infringements. Over the course of the 22 rounds of the season, 695 track limits infringements were committed in competitive sessions – qualifying, sprint qualifying, sprint races and grands prix.
By far the greatest mess of the year came at the Red Bull Ring, where the race results were only confirmed several hours later following a protest by Aston Martin, which led to multiple drivers receiving extra post-race time penalties.
But where were the most problematic venues and corners where drivers struggled to keep within the white lines and who were the biggest offenders over the year? RaceFans delved into the data to find out.
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1 & 2 – Turns ten and nine – Red Bull Ring, Austria: 89 and 60 offences
Unsurprisingly, given the goings-on at the Austrian Grand Prix, the Red Bull Ring was the scene of the most track limits infringements over the year. A total of 151 track limits offences were committed that resulted in either one or two lap times being deleted by the stewards. In that one grand prix alone, drivers were handed out time penalties for track limits infringements totalling two-and-a-half minutes.
The chief problem corners were the pair of fast downhill right-handers at the end of the lap. Turn nine saw 60 separate track limits infringements over the course of the Austrian Grand Prix weekend and the final corner was responsible for 89 – far more than any other corner on the calendar.
3 – Turn five – Losail, Qatar: 36 offences
Beyond the Red Bull Ring, the Losail circuit in Qatar was the second-worst track when it came to drivers struggling to keep within the white lines, with 87 offences over the weekend. The double-apex right handers at turns four and five were the trouble spots.
Turn four was responsible for 11 times being deleted over the three-day event, while the second right-hander of turn five resulted in 36 infringements as drivers tried to carry as much speed as possible out of the section.
The Losail circuit also saw 22 times deleted for drivers running wide at turn 13, which was the second of a triple-apex right-hander towards the end of the lap, as well as 23 times taken off the board for drivers running wide at the penultimate corner of turn 15, the left hander. This means Losail has the highest number of difficult corners of any circuit on the calendar.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the three circuits which saw the most track limits infringements – Red Bull Ring, Losail and Circuit of the Americas – all hosted sprint rounds last season. As those rounds featured four competitive sessions per weekend as opposed to the usual two, there would naturally be more instances of deleted times over the weekend. However, the two circuits with the fewest deleted times all year were also sprint rounds – Baku with only two track limits incidents, and Interlagos, which saw just one.
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4 – Harbour chicane – Monte Carlo, Monaco: 36 (29+7) offences
It might be surprising, given that Monaco is perhaps the world’s most notorious street circuit where barriers line the entire track, that the harbour chicane is the third-most prolific corner on the calendar when it comes to drivers exceeding track limits. Yet there were a total of 36 times deleted during qualifying and the grand prix at Monaco last year because of drivers cutting the infamous chicane – 29 times at the left-hander of turn ten and seven times for the right-hander at the exit, turn 11.
Despite the volume of infringements, the figures do not tell the whole story. Given how limited opportunities there are for drivers to move out of the way of rivals behind in qualifying, deliberately missing the chicane can be a convenient way to avoid an impeding penalty. Seven drivers had times deleted for missing the chicane in qualifying, with most not being on push laps at the time of the infraction.
Come race day, the late arrival of rain made it more challenging for drivers to keep their cars the right side of the kerbs at the chicane. In total, there were 29 infringements at the chicane over the course of the 78 laps – the bulk of which coming after the rain fell in the second half of the race.
5 – Club – Silverstone, Great Britain: 27 offences
As a popular circuit among drivers and fans, it might be surprising that Silverstone has one of the hottest spots on the calendar for track limits problems. But Club corner at the end of the Hangar Straight is just that, resulting in 27 times being deleted over last year’s British Grand Prix weekend.
The outside of Club corner used to be lined with grass and gravel for many years until the track was heavily revised in 2010, when Astroturf was laid on the outside of the kerbs. Last year, the corner had raised, jagged kerbing beyond the main kerb to try and deter drivers from running wide. However, that did not prevent 15 times from being deleted by the stewards due to drivers running wide there in qualifying last year, with another 12 offences counted over the grand prix itself.
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The biggest offenders
Keeping within the lines at over 250kph is a matter of skill and judgement, just like everything else when it comes to driving a Formula 1 car.
Of the 22 drivers who competed in the championship last season and contributed to those 695 offences, there were some drivers who strayed beyond the white lines far more than others. Surprisingly, however, the two biggest offenders were drivers who had particularly strong seasons in 2024.
With a total of 60 infractions from competitive sessions throughout the 2023 season, the grid’s most prolific track limits abuser was Williams driver Alexander Albon. Not only did he have more times deleted for track limits infringements than any other driver, with five separate time penalties during races through the season for going beyond his track limit strike allowance, Albon broke the white lines 17 more times than rookie team mate Logan Sargeant did – and he had driver with the fifth-most offences in the season.
Second on the list was McLaren driver Lando Norris, who racked up 50 infractions over the 22 rounds last year, one more than Haas’ Kevin Magnussen. Pierre Gasly broke track limits on 43 occasions last year in his Alpine, ahead of Sargeant with 43 and seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton guilty of 41 track limits offences.
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At the other end of the spectrum, some drivers were far more successful at keeping inside the lines. Of the 19 drivers who competed in all 22 rounds last year, none had fewer infractions than Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas, who was caught outside the track limits only 12 times through the whole season.
That was just under half the amount of times Esteban Ocon, the second-cleanest driver on the grid, was guilty of the same. The Alpine driver broke track limits 23 times in the year – one fewer than his former team mate Fernando Alonso. Zhou Guanyu and George Russell were the only two drivers not to be hit by a track limits strike throughout the infamous Austrian Grand Prix and they accrued just 24 and 26 infractions, respectively, over the course of the year.
Even world champion Max Verstappen, in the most dominant season ever seen, could not avoid having times deleted – most notably when he lost pole for the United States Grand Prix at the end of Friday qualifying for running too wide at the penultimate corner. But that was only one of just 26 times that car number one failed to keep in bounds over the season.
Due to the combination of Albon and Sargeant’s 103 combined offences, Williams were comfortably the team with the most track limits infractions in 2023. Haas were second with 87 ahead of McLaren in third with 79, Ferrari fourth with 75 and the Alpine drivers combining for 68. Unsurprisingly, the team with the fewest infractions was Alfa Romeo, with their combined 37 over 20 fewer than the next best time of Aston Martin, who tallied 58 offences.
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