Controversial new curbs that were installed at Paul Ricard to prevent drivers from going beyond the track limits have “exceeded the mark” and should be removed, suggested Haas team boss Günther Steiner before the French Grand Prix.
The issue of track barriers has disappeared over the past two race weekends, with events in Monaco and Azerbaijan, both street tracks where barriers are a stiff penalty for any driver trying to gain an illegal advantage.
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Back in a permanent racing facility with wide run-off zones, the new curbs, which are outside the regular kerning and, incidentally, also outside the track boundaries, are supposed to eliminate the problem, but are branded as too disadvantaged drivers.
Steiner said: “In Monte Carlo you don’t go into the wall, but when you are outside the track limits, it’s a small question. Should we cordon off the racetracks, then surely we wouldn’t go in there because we’d completely destroy the cars?
“There is a fine line where you say it’s acceptable, it’s not acceptable. But there are other places where you can step outside the lane boundaries and lose time but not destroy your car. That’s how it should be.”
Could the curb repair bill be causing budget problems?
Mercedes and Red Bull both filed complaints with FIA Race Director Michael Masi on Friday after Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen fell victim to the hard curbs that kept drivers within the track boundaries and damaged their cars.
Both Red Bull team manager Jonathon Wheatley and his Mercedes team manager Ron Meadows said the potential damage from the curb runs into hundreds of thousands of pounds.
With one of the smallest budgets on the net, Steiner admitted that Haas couldn’t afford these costs, adding, “There are always budget issues. There is never enough budget whatever you do.
“Of course we had a couple of accidents and that sort of thing, but some of those were predicted, especially when you have two young drivers, you predict more of them. But we are safe at the moment. “
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