Masi warns drivers of Turn 11 track limits

FIA race director Michael Masi has warned the drivers against exceeding the track limits at Turn 11, saying they’ll be shown the black-and-white flag after the third time.

Turn 11 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez is a fast left-hander where running wide can give a driver a speed advantage.

As such the FIA are clamping down on drivers running wide, saying not only will they lose their lap time but, after the third transgression, they will be shown the black-and-white warning flag.

“A lap time achieved during any practice session or the race by a driver completely crossing the red and white kerb on the exit of Turn 11 with no part of the car remaining in contact with the red and white section of the kerb, will be invalidated by the stewards,” Motorsport.com reports Masi as having said in his pre-race notes.

“On the third occasion of a driver completely crossing the red and white kerb on the exit of Turn 11 with no part of the car remaining in contact with the red and white section of the kerb during the race, he will be shown a black-and-white flag, any further cutting will then be reported to the stewards.

“Each time any car completely crosses the red and white kerb on the exit of Turn 11, teams will be informed via the official messaging system.

“The above requirements will not automatically apply to any driver who is judged to have been forced off the track, each such case will be judged individually.”

The stewards will use electronic monitoring to keep an eye on Turn 11.

He also issued guidelines for how to rejoin the track should any driver run wide at Turns 1, 2 and 3, Turn 8 and Turn 11.

He added: “In all cases detailed above, the driver must only re-join the track when it is safe to do so and without gaining a lasting advantage.”

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