Verstappen campaigns to install more gravel at the side of the track

Max Verstappen wants more firmness in the application of the rules linked to respecting track limits. The Dutchman has already been called to order 3 times this season for biting off-trajectory. 

The pilot Red Bull notably had to return the leadership of the Bahrain GP to Lewis Hamilton after taking control of the race by going too wide at turn 4 of Sakhir. 

In Portugal last weekend, Verstappen could have taken pole position and the fastest lap in the race but his efforts were wiped out by the Portimão stewards, who erased his lap times for not respecting track limits, there Again. 

Current 2nd in the Drivers' Championship behind Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), Verstappen would like the subject, which somewhat spoils an otherwise exciting start to the season, to be regulated more strictly. 

« Some tracks are easier to monitor than others when it comes to layout limitations, commented the Red Bull driver this Thursday in Barcelona. We must find a solution. I am well aware that some circuits also welcome the MotoGP but we must be able to find compromises that suit both categories. 

Our cornering speed and our level of grip are such that we can really go beyond the track limits. It is sometimes difficult to judge where the border lies. I think we should put more gravel in certain places.

Well afterwards, it is not in the interest of the tracks which organize driving days with amateurs. If someone goes out and comes back on the track, they put gravel everywhere and we then have to clean the line. All of this costs money. 

The situation is still confusing in certain cases, depending on whether the limit applies to the white line or in relation to the vibrator. We need to put a firm limit in place when you go off course ». 

If the situation around the limits of the track is sometimes confusing, it is clear that Red Bull and its star driver sometimes seemed a little lost amid the rule changes during the weekend. 

In Bahrain, the Austrian team was surprised to see Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton abuse the limits of the track at turn 4 during the race, thinking that the offense would be automatically punished. In Portugal, Verstappen did not understand why his best lap in the race had been erased when he thought he could turn a little wide at turn 14 without risking a penalty.

If he recognizes “ disagreements » in Bahrain, the Dutchman also explains that the intensity of the duel with Hamilton leaves him no room for maneuver. 

« I try to get the most out of the car, even when it is not at the level of the Mercedes, he added. I could save myself some trouble by not flirting with the limits but in those cases I would be well behind the Mercedes, which is not pleasant.

I always aim for the best possible result. I veered wide twice and it cost me pole and the fastest lap in the race. But I'm not the type to settle for 2nd or 2rd place ». 

For the Spanish Grand Prix this weekend, the areas in the crosshairs of the marshals are turns 1 and 2, with the obligation to rejoin the track by passing to the left of the cones located on site in the event of a straight ahead, and the chicane located between turns 13 and 15. In case the drivers have forgotten that the last corner of Barcelona has not been a big right curve for a long time. You can never be too careful...