Why F1 has gone too far on track limits
Nobody wants to see racing drivers risk serious injury - or death - in an accident. But is Formula 1's affection for extended run-off area over-sanitising grand prix racing?
In the aftermath of last year's Mexican Grand Prix there was, you may remember, quite a bit of dissension in the paddock. Sebastian Vettel, all sweetness and light in 2017 with a highly competitive Ferrari at his disposal, was far from that last season, and proved especially ill-tempered at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
Upon being advised by his team that Max Verstappen, with whom he had been battling, was to receive no immediate penalty for cutting across the runoff at Turn 1, his radio response was much to the point: "Well, here's a message for Charlie [Whiting]: fuck off!" This he then repeated, at which point Maurizio Arrivabene told him to calm down, to concentrate on his driving.
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