Mick Schumacher has called for discussions over track limits ahead of the French Grand Prix. The issue became a key talking point during F1's visit to Austria after several drivers were penalised for the offence throughout the weekend. There were 43 separate track limits violations recorded by stewards at the Red Bull Ring, and Lando Norris, Zhou Guanyu, Pierre Gasly and Sebastian Vettel were all hit with five-second time penalties during the Grand Prix. Sergio Perez was also issued with a delayed penalty for a track limits violation in qualifying, which resulted in his best time from Q2 being deleted along with all of his laps in Q3. This dropped him from fourth to 13th on the grid for Saturday's Sprint. Following the event, several drivers have expressed frustration over how track limits were managed in Austria, with the likes of Lando Norris suggesting that the FIA were "a bit stupid" with some of their rulings.
Schumacher calls for discussions over track limits
Schumacher has added his view to the debate, and admits that track limits had previously been "a very big problem" during his time in Formula 2. However, the Haas driver believes that the topic needs to be discussed before F1 arrives at the Circuit Paul Ricard. "It does look a bit silly if, for going a centimetre of track, you get a penalty of five seconds, and most of the time when you go off you don’t gain any lap time, which is worse," Schumacher told media, including RacingNews365.com . "It's something to be discussed, something to see if we can improve it for the next event because I think in Paul Ricard especially it will be a big concern."
Concerns over track limits at French GP
Schumacher is not alone in voicing concerns over how track limits might be policed at the French Grand Prix. Red Bull boss Christian Horner has also suggested that it could become a "bigger issue" at the Circuit Paul Ricard. "There is a genuine time gain to be had [there]," Horner explained. "Obviously, you've got acres of tarmac there, so it's just inviting you to run offline."
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