Fernando Alonso admits to having “no idea” on how to solve the problem of track limits in Formula One, after the Spaniard saw one of his qualifying lap time for the British Grand Prix being deleted for having four wheels off circuit.
After discussing the issue with the drivers on Friday evening, Charlie Whiting sent a note to teams at Silverstone detailing the FIA’s ‘zero tolerance’ approach to track limits at Silverstone.
Stewards have been asked to pay particular attention to Copse, Stowe, and Club corners, as these were deemed the places where drivers could gain the most time.
Speaking about his deleted qualifying effort, Alonso said: “We lost half a tenth but this does not matter. It does not matter whether you win or lose time.
“You’re just outside the track in their opinion. It’s the same everyone and we saw many incidents [in qualifying]. Unfortunately we had one in Q3 but that’s the way it is.
“We know the rules. We cannot be outside the white lines in some of the corners. We do not have the video from that lap. Obviously we have to trust them that they saw clearly we were with the four wheels outside the track.
“I guess it was turn 15 [Stowe] but we’ll look at the data at turn 15 because in my opinion it was the corner where I was close to the limit.”
When pressed for a solution to fix the issue, the double world champion offered a half-resigned, half-amused answer
“How to improve this situation? I have no idea. We’ve had this issue for some years now. We had it in Austria [last weekend], now also here.
“This is a sport that has all these things. Sometimes you finish the race and you know the results four of five hours later. That’s Formula One.”
Alonso will line up ninth on Sunday's grid; the FIA note also specified that “any driver who is judged to have gained a clear and lasting advantage” will be investigated by the stewards.
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