Ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix this weekend, we can bring you the first photos — courtesy of ParcFer.me — of the new gravel traps and strips put in at turns 9 and 10 following the farce of last year’s race that resulted in numerous penalties during and after it.
Track limits had been a general problem in qualifying and races over the last few years, but it went to the next level in 2023. Aston Martin launched a protest post-race as they felt not all track limit violations had been picked up, leading to their driver Fernando Alonso jumping up a spot as Carlos Sainz was handed a penalty.
Lewis Hamilton, Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, Logan Sargeant, Esteban Ocon, Nyck de Vries, Kevin Magnussen and Yuki Tsunoda also got penalised after that protest from the Silverstone-based team.
Over 1,200 track limit violations got picked up on the Sunday over the 71-lap race.
- Carlos Sainz finished 4th on the road, but he picked up a ten-second time penalty for exceeding track limits. He fell to 6th.
- Lewis Hamilton finished 7th on the road, but he picked up a ten-second time penalty for exceeding track limits. He fell to 8th.
- Pierre Gasly finished 9th on the road, but he picked up a ten-second time penalty for exceeding track limits. He fell to 10th.
- Alex Albon picked up a ten-second time penalty for exceeding track limits. He stayed in 11th.
- Logan Sargeant picked up a total of a 15-second time penalty for exceeding track limits. He stayed in 13th.
- Esteban Ocon finished 12th on the road, but he picked up a total of 30-second time penalty for exceeding track limits. He fell to 14th.
- Nyck de Vries finished 15th on the road, but he picked up a five-second time penalty for forcing Kevin Magnussen off the track. He also got slapped with a total of a 15-second time penalty for exceeding track limits. He fell to 17th.
- Kevin Magnussen finished 19th on the road, but he picked up a five-second time penalty for exceeding track limits. He moved up to 18th because of Yuki Tsunoda’s bigger penalty.
- Yuki Tsunoda finished 17th on the road, but he picked up a total of a 15-second time penalty for exceeding track limits. He fell to 19th.
It was a topic that came up during Christian Horner’s written media session in Spain on Sunday. The Red Bull Racing team principal explained what had been done to solve the problems.
“I think they’ve put a gravel trap there now. It will be track litter rather than limits.
“So hopefully the modifications that have been made […] I’ve been told they put a strip of gravel in. It should deter drivers from going out there.”
Turn 9 comparison — 2023 versus 2024
Turn 10 comparison — 2023 versus 2024
