New track limit sensors split opinion among F1 drivers

New track limit sensors being introduced at the Hungarian Grand Prix are splitting opinion among F1 drivers.

The FIA will be able to tell when a driver has exceeded track limits thanks to sensors on the outside of exit kerbs, which will immediately alert race control when a car runs wide. Jenson Button says he supports the new way of monitoring track limits as it is more common for drivers to run wide as exit kerbs become lower.

“Yeah I do, I like it," Button said. "We’ve talked about it before in the drivers briefing. It’s a good idea, hopefully it works correctly. I think we’d all prefer not to have to have that system but we do have to have that system.

"The way things are all the kerbs are pretty similar at all the circuits now so they’re easy to run over on exits, so we need something. We need a limit to stop us from going over there."

Lewis Hamilton is also in favour of the change,

"The track limits, I’m not taking credit for it, but I had mentioned it before which they had already thought about, and they said they’ll hopefully have it in the next races," Hamilton said. "I think it would be an easy thing for them to police because at the moment, some corners we’re allowed to go out.

"Look at Silverstone, at Turn 7 you’re allowed to drive straight off the track no problem which is an advantage. Turn 9 you’re not allowed to which isn’t an advantage when you go off. Whenever you go outside the white line it’s an advantage generally.

"Here we used to have astroturf on the exit of Turn 4, and it wasn’t an advantage there. When we say we’re gaining an advantage it needs to be taken, it’s a good step forward and hopefully it will be a good step to manage it and not have to look on the reply if we’re just inside or just outside."

As well as Hamilton and Button, Fernando Alonso says F1 should be making use of such technology.

"I think it’s good," Alonso said. "This way we don’t rely on the marshal or the TV and if it is or is not broadcast at that moment. I think to have an automatic system is a technology that is there already and it is good to use it in Formula One. We should have the maximum of everything."

However, Sebastian Vettel disagreed, saying the FIA should look at the source of the problem which he believes is poor track design.

Asked if he thinks the sensors are good for the future, Vettel replied: “No.

"I think it’s the FIA to blame to build circuits that make it faster to run off the track rather than on the track. I went around the track this morning and I think it’s quite disappointing.

"I think there’s a lot of money that went into it, which I guess this place had to pay to put a certain type of kerbs in place and the result is that it’s probably faster to go off track than to stay on track.

"So I think the target has to be to build tracks so that they are designed to stay on track and not allow us to go off track and then put sensors in and so on. If you think about it, it doesn’t make much sense does it?"

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