F1 | Spanish GP | Verstappen says "FIA needs to find a solution" for track limits incidents
During the Thursday media day ahead of the Spanish GP, Max Verstappen was asked, yet again, about track limits, a topic that has left much to be said during the first three rounds of the 2021 championship.
Thursday in Barcelona means Media Day for the Spanish Grand Prix. During the driver’s official press conference Max Verstappen was paired alongside his fellow AlphaTauri colleague Yuki Tsunoda, and the Dutchman was asked, among many questions, about the track limits matter that still continues with controversial situations as the championship goes on.
And Max was very specific and clear, he assures that everyone at the FIA and race control should do a better job on this topic for the upcoming races.
"I think we do need to find a solution. Of course I understand, some tracks we race together on with MotoGP, and of course they want a bit different kerbs to what we like.” Verstappen said. "But I think we still need to find a bit of, let's say, middle way which works for both.”
"With our cornering speeds, basically we can really abuse the whole track because of the grip we have with the cars, which just makes it really difficult sometimes to really judge proper track limits.
"But from my side, I think we should try and put a bit more gravel back in places. Of course it's sometimes not what tracks want, because when you have track days and people go off, the gravel comes onto the track, they need to clean it, it all costs money to put it back in place.
"But I think it's just sometimes a bit confusing, also from the outside where, you know some places you run onto a kerb, some places are policed with a white line.”
"I think we can make it a lot better by making sure that there is a hard limit when you go off a kerb or whatever."
Verstappen, who made his debut in Formula 1 in 2016 with Toro Rosso and with just four races on that season, was promoted to Red Bull for the Spanish Grand Prix, and then came on to win the event being just 18-years-old. This weekend, with the grand circus again at Catalunya, the now 23-years-old Red Bull driver is set to make his 100th start for the Red Bull team. Max Verstappen was asked by the media about his highlights within his years at the Milton-Keynes-based team.
“I think number one within Red Bull. That was a good start to the team. I guess wins are highlights, I don’t know of course the numbers that they are –like race 99 or 100- but a lot of good ones, luckily a lot more good memories than bad memories.”
It's race number 100 for @Max33Verstappen as a @redbullracing driver this weekend 💯
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 6, 2021
And he returns to the scene of the very first one - and what a day that was! 🏆#SpanishGP 🇪🇸 #F1 pic.twitter.com/gjGdeV602v
Coming back to track limits stuff and the controversy that took the victory out of him on Bahrain, Verstappen concluded by saying that track limits are also a matter of car limits and racing to the limit.
"I don't think there's anything to be done to be on top of it," Verstappen said. "In Bahrain, there were some misunderstandings between teams and 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 always try to get the best possible result out of it. But yeah, I went twice basically outside of the track limits where it cost me basically a pole and a fastest lap."
