FIA: 'Zero tolerance' approach to track limits in Hungary

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The FIA says it "will be adopting a 'zero tolerance' approach to cars leaving the track" at certain corners during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

New sensors on the exit of Turn 4 and Turn 11 have been installed to help the FIA police cars running off track and potentially gaining an advantage. After a long drivers briefing on Friday evening, FIA race director Charlie Whiting confirmed on Saturday morning there will be no leeway during qualifying.

"We will be adopting a 'zero tolerance' approach to cars leaving the track at turns 4 and 11 during qualifying," Whiting wrote in a note to the teams. "Please note that this will be judged by the use of timing loops in the kerbs and, to ensure that we see no false crossings, we would like to make it clear that the loops are set up to register a crossing when a car is approximately 20cm beyond the white line. Every lap time achieved by leaving the track will be deleted in accordance with Article 12.3.1.d of the Sporting Code."

When it comes to the race, drivers will receive three warnings for exceeding the track limits, after which they will be reported to the stewards.

"During the race, and in accordance with Article 27.4 of the Sporting Regulations, any driver who is judged to have left the track three times at these corners (when counted cumulatively) will be shown a black and white flag, one further crossing will result in a report being made to the stewards for not having made every reasonable effort to use the track. As discussed, this is likely to result in a drive-through penalty for any driver concerned.

"However, if we are satisfied that a driver left the track at these points for reasons beyond his control, having been forced off the track for example, lap times will not be deleted during qualifying nor will such a crossing be counted towards a drivers total in the race."

Whiting's note only applies to track limits at turns 4 and 11, where the FIA believes drivers can gain an advantage from leaving the circuit.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.