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Max Verstappen believes Formula 1 drivers are being treated like “amateurs” because of the way the F1 stewards police track limits.
Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez had the fastest time of his first Q2 run in qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix deleted before it was reinstated while the Mexican was starting his final run of the session.
Perez criticised F1’s policing of track limits as “not up to it” while Verstappen said that the stewards don’t listen to the drivers and put the emphasis on “silly” things rather than tackling the real issues.
“Drivers last year said we had to be more clear and strict on what we were going to chase on track limits,” Verstappen said after qualifying.
“But for example last night [in the drivers’ briefing] they started talking about Turn 13, the exit, that the line was the track edge.
“But there’s a kerb and a white line next to it, which to me personally is the track edge.
“We just have so many silly little things which also make it more difficult for them to police.
“I don’t know, as drivers we always want to help and give our advice but nothing is heard. For me that’s extremely frustrating.
“I don’t want to fight with them, I just want to advise them but they don’t really care and they actually, for my feeling, look at us a bit like we are amateurs and I don’t think that’s correct.”
Earlier in the year, Verstappen had said the barrage of track limits penalties at the Austrian GP “just didn’t look good for the sport” and called the way F1 policies its track limits “a joke”.
AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly was dumped out of Q1 in Hungary after his fastest effort was deleted for track limits abuse – a decision which confused and “surprised” the Frenchman, a former team-mate of Verstappen’s.
Verstappen repeated Gasly’s criticism that there wasn’t even an onboard camera to show the track limits abuse.
“Most of the time when you look at onboard cameras the camera’s on the wrong side so the angle almost looks like you’re off but sometimes you’re not, you’re still on,” Verstappen explained.
“So it’s very hard and I think we can do ourselves a favour by making it a lot easier by adding a bit of gravel on the exit or whatever.
“Like Austria for example, why do we need track limits in a turn where there’s naturally gravel and even if you go out by this much you will penalise yourself if you go wide or if you go there you damage the floor anyway, so your car’s going slower?
“They just make it super-hard for themselves.
“Of course, people say ‘yeah, just stay within the white line’ but that’s easier said than done.
“It’s just so confusing.”
Verstappen will line up next to Perez in 10th place after he locked up and ran wide during his first flying lap in Q3 and had his second run thwarted by a power unit issue.
