Lewis Hamilton’s 2023 Austrian GP Problems Get Respite as Race Organisers Bring Massive Change

The Red Bull Ring in Austria has installed a ‘gravel police’ for monitoring track limit violations. This new change is the FIA’s answer to a huge problem the F1 racers faced during the 2023 Austrian GP. Set amidst the Styrian Mountains, the breathtaking race venue frustrated those drivers who got multiple penalties for exceeding the track limits. Many even claimed there was a flaw in the policing system and that they had not crossed the white line. To prevent such confusion, a new gravel tract will appear at this year’s Austrian GP with an AI enforcement system.

When F1 appeared in Austria last year, track limit violations plagued both Qualifying and the Main Race. Given the tricky nature of the race track, a total of 1200 potential track limit infringements came to the FIA’s notice. The stewards investigated each of them and ultimately spotted 83 cases. The policing became so difficult for the FIA that they could not penalize all the drivers who violated the track limits during the race. Aston Martin eventually challenged the Grand Prix results and the final classification did not come out for hours.

Upon scrutinizing the race videos again, the FIA found eight drivers exceeding track limits. They penalized all of them after the race. This resulted in several drivers losing their original positions in the grid as Lewis Hamilton dropped from P7 to P8. The fuming Briton then complained against Red Bull’s Sergio Perez on his team radio, saying, “Since they’re handing them out now, he’s exceeding limits every lap!”

Given what happened at the Austrian GP last year, the FIA stewards recommended a solution as they called for the installation of a gravel trap at the exit of turns 9 and 10. “We note that while this is not a straightforward solution in relation to other series [like MotoGP] that race here, it has proved to be very effective at other corners and circuits with similar issues,” FIA stated.

Ahead of this year’s race at the Red Bull Ring, the FIA’s recommendation has been considered. The venue authority has installed all-new 2.5-metre-wide gravel traps with AI backing. But how will these ingenious ‘traps’ work?

Austrian GP’s ‘AI gravel police’ technology is not a novelty in F1

The hosts of the Austrian GP have introduced AI-powered gravel tracts to catch incidents of trackside violations. The new technology has been fitted to the turns 9 and 10 on the Red Bull Ring. These were the corners where the most track limit violations occurred in 2023. An AI system will help recognize the cars that have gone over the gravel tract. This information will reach the stewards who will decide upon the penalties.

The FIA’s existing manual monitoring system will also be active as an extra layer of scrutiny. They will work from the organization’s Remote Operations Center in Geneva. Five people will monitor the AI technology there so that they can pass judgments clearly and quickly.

The gravel tracts will operate from the FP1 session in Austria. However, a similar technology was already used at the Chinese GP at the Shanghai Audi International Circuit earlier in the year. Hence, this ingenious trap is not a novelty in Formula 1.

With the gravel tracks in place and no risk of unfair penalties, the Austrian GP will be interesting. Max Verstappen has won the last two races and will hope for a hat-trick at his team’s home race. But Lando Norris, after losing out on a Grand Prix win twice in a row, will want to capture the top spot next week. Also, Mercedes’ George Russell and Lewis Hamilton might eye the podium places as the team’s newly-introduced upgrades look competitive.

Do you think a major showdown between the top squads in Austria is on the cards? Comment below to let us know your thoughts.