Max Verstappen voiced his displeasure with Formula 1’s stringent track limit regulations, despite securing pole position for the Austrian Grand Prix.
Over the team radio, the Red Bull driver exclaimed, “This is a joke honestly with these track limits. F***ing ridiculous.”
The qualifying session at the Red Bull Ring saw numerous drivers falling foul of the white track boundary lines at Turn 9, leading to a flurry of lap deletions and chaos on the timesheets.
Verstappen’s teammate and closest title rival, Sergio Perez, experienced a particularly challenging qualifying session, having all three of his Q2 attempts deleted for infringing at the entry to Turn 10.
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As a result, Perez will start the Grand Prix from 15th on the grid. Verstappen himself had to set a second banker lap in the same part of qualifying to secure a valid time after committing the same offense.
Reflecting on the difficult qualifying session, Verstappen commented, “It was very difficult because of all the track limits.
“We don’t do this on purpose, but with these speeds and the high-speed corners, it is so hard to judge the white line accurately.
“You can see a lot of people got caught out, including myself, so it was about surviving.
“Even in Q3, you just want a banker lap, which takes out the joy a little bit. But we still did a good enough lap. Very happy to be on pole, but it is still a very long weekend.”
Verstappen acknowledged the challenges posed by the track and the inherent difficulty in judging the wide white line at high speeds.
He emphasised the cautious approach required in such circumstances, stating: “It is always very tricky here every year.
“The cars are very big, heavy, and to judge it on a line that wide with these speeds is incredibly hard.”
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Looking ahead to the rest of the weekend, which includes F1’s second Sprint event, Verstappen remained coy about his prospects but expressed contentment with his performance so far.
“We know this is a different weekend with the format, but happy with today,” he said.
“Tomorrow is a very different day, but at least the car is quick, that is the most important.”