After a Qatar Grand Prix weekend that was beset by track limits chaos, as grid positions were shuffled around and a raft of in-race penalties handed out to change the order, Ben Sulayem has made clear he thinks such situations are unacceptable.
He believes that the focus for change is not by the FIA policing things more effectively to stamp out any offenders.
Instead, he says circuits that have a clear problem with track limits – such as Qatar and Austria – must make circuit modifications to deter drivers from being tempted to run wide.
Asked by Autosport what he was going to do about the track limits problem after the sometimes farcical scenes in Qatar, Ben Sulayem said: “You're absolutely right about it, we had the same issue in Austria, it was 1200 [offences there].
“And I have to say, congratulations to the stewards because they spotted it. But is that the solution? No.
“The solution is to improve the track itself. I know some are resistant to it, but to tell you the truth, if they don't, there is no race. It is as simple as this. We can't afford this.”
Drivers abusing the kerbs so much in Qatar proved to be one of the factors in the tyre situation that F1 faced last weekend after sidewall separation was spotted on Pirelli rubber.
Source: Autosport