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Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur feels the latest track limits furore that played a part in overshadowing the Qatar Grand Prix weekend was “not at the level of the championship” and needs to be resolved.
Qatar’s return to the F1 calendar after a year hiatus during which time it hosted the World Cup was littered with problems, not least was the heat and humidity that caused health issues for the drivers, but also Pirelli’s tyres that were unable to withstand the aggressive kerbs at the Lusail International Circuit.
On top of that, the thorny issue of track limits again reared its ugly head, with 51 laps deleted during the grand prix, and with drivers collecting time penalties for numerous breaches of exceeding the track limits.
Across the four primary sessions of qualifying, sprint shootout, sprint, and the main race, there were a total of 127 deleted laps.
Although not to the excessive level of the Austrian Grand Prix at Spielberg, Vasseur claims he and his team knew the Qatar track would pose a similar problem.
“I would say the biggest issue of the weekend for me was track limits,” said Vasseur.
“You know when you go to Spielberg you will have issues with the track limits, and we had issues with track limits. We got the result two hours after the race.
“Before the weekend (in Qatar), we told them (the drivers) exactly the same, it will be a festival, and it was a festival.
“On top of this, I think the drivers at the end (of the race) probably lost a little bit of concentration. Some guys, over the last 10 laps, were getting strikes (lap times deleted) every single lap.
“But you can’t blame them in this situation. We have to find a solution. It’s not good for the show.
“At least on the pit wall you have the number of strikes, you can follow the story, you know where you are.
“But I’m thinking about the guys who are in front of their TV. They don’t have the story about the strikes, and at one stage they see ‘Gasly five seconds’ (penalty); ‘Gasly 10 seconds; ‘Gasly 15 seconds’.
“We have to think about this, that we can anticipate this kind of issue.”
Qatar is one of the countries that has paid above and beyond what most European venues pay to host a race, on top of which, it also invested heavily in upgrading the facilities ahead of its second event, including track resurfacing.
Like Spielberg, the Lusail venue also plays host to MotoGP, ensuring the promoters have to be mindful of what measures are put in place to accommodate both that series and F1.
“It’s not just a matter of the kerbs,” insisted Vasseur. “It’s the complete process – the layout of the track, the kerbs, what is after the kerbs. We have to find a solution.
“I don’t want to speak about investment, but we are coming to Qatar, and they are making a mega effort to organise the event.
“But this outcome, for me, is not at the level of the (F1) championship.”
