The track is the place where the racing should take place, not the grass verges and run off areas. In the day we had curbs and gravel traps, both of which we avoided because of the known consequences.
Bring both back, enogh of this adapting/designing tracks to suit the cars.

 

I'm quite glad race circuits have friendlier run-off. As a keen amateur trackday person I'd much rather there was tarmac instead of gravel. I and most other users of circuits are going to make mistakes.

It's no just F1 that uses these circuits.

It was a bit rich Horner moaning about Hamilton not being sporting given the brouhaha over their new dodgy exhaust map.

 

Red Bull both won and lost today on technicalities which would be karma if I believed in it:

Red Bull's engine maps were clearly within the letter of the law if not the intent.

Vettel's overtake was definitely not within the letter of the law even though it could be argued to be within the spirit: if he had remained within the racetrack (ie at least two wheels within the white lines) then it would have been ok. But to make the overtake, irrespective of the fact he was clearly faster than Button at that point, he had to leave the confines of the track. He should have backed out or given the place back according to the letter of the law. And the regs are pretty clear on not getting an advantage by leaving the track.

 

I agree with the penalty within the rules that are written, I just question whether those rules are what's best for the sport. We want to see drivers attempting overtakes, and if the penalty for getting it slightly wrong is being out of the race or being given a penalty by the stewards, then they simply won't try. Chicanes are different because that's an obvious shortcut; technically a driver who cuts a chicane hasn't completed the full race distance and that shouldn't be allowed, but running wide is the opposite if anything. And actually no end of drivers were going 4 wheels off the track at various places, but only Vettel got the penalty. You can say only Vetel overtook off the track, but if you catch someone up by going off track lap after lap and then overtake them, is that different?

It's a contentious issue, and as Brundle said, in lower formula they don't worry about it so much. Think about La Source at Spa; I'm sure almost every race I've ever watched from there has half the field going wide on the first lap. Should they all get penalties, or is that the kind of exciting racing we want to see?

 

Well, if someone goes off the track and makes an advantageous move is surely the point of this rule, if they go off track and make no advantage then I agree nothing should be done, it is where they gain an advantage that is important surely, and if they do, then they give it back or pay the consequences, this is the same for everyone ... at least everyone caught.

Your Spa example is about avoiding carnage rather than gaining an advantage I suspect.

 

If you can go wherever you want, then what's the point in having a fixed track in the first place.

Let's plant a few trees, place a few rocks off-line, then see if they do the same.

The line (ahem) has to be drawn somewhere.

How about a system where a driver goes down to 10% power if all 4 wheels leave the track? I am joking, but if the drivers don't respect the circuit, then that's where we're heading.

 

I'm pretty sure they can get some sort of a penalty if they repeatedly offend, even when not overtaking.

IIRC in a recent race, this was likely to occur on the first lap, so a general directive was given that it was ok at that stage of a race.

 

Got to agree with that. If there was a likelyhood of damaging the car on a curb or being beached in a gravel trap you can be damned sure that they would stay on track.They manage it at Monaco They only use the run off as a part of the track because they have too much corner speed to stay legal.
Any wheels off the track should be penalised.

 

Do we want every GP to be as exciting as Monaco?

 

That is called missing the point. Unless you agree that using the run off areas to overtake is ok? You also seem to have missed the fact that Monaco is somewhat narrow.