The FIA has asked the organizers of the Austrian Grand Prix 2023 to redo the safety zones. The head of F1 racing, Nils Wittich, strongly recommended that the promoter of the stage in Spielberg fill gravel behind the curbs to avoid a repeat of the farce of last weekend.

Similar recommendations had already been sent to “Red Bull Ring” a year ago, but they had no effect. The result was a crumpled weekend of the current season – the results of Sunday’s race could be summed up only late at night, as the judges had to consider more than 1200 episodes, containing signs of violations of the limits of the track. 

They say this is unprecedented in the FIA, and stressed that it wouldn’t have happened if they had listened to last year’s advice. 

Due to the fact that the safety zones in Spielberg are asphalt, riders are tempted to go behind the white line in turns nine and ten to improve lap times. Attempts to solve the problem with a high “sausage” curb behind the main has caused dissatisfaction with the teams because of the risk of damaging the car. 

That is why in 2022 Niels Wittich recommended to place in the problem area at least a small gravel area, which would solve the problem. 

However, the Austrians did not want to carry out such works, such as the circuit in addition to the F1 competitions and MotoGP, where it is considered the safest asphalt area.

However, now we can say that the FIA will definitely increase the pressure and achieve the redevelopment of the “Red Bull Ring” by 2024. The head of Red Bull Racing noted that last weekend hit the image of Formula 1.

“I think in those corners, just a strip of gravel is vital,” said the Briton. – The task of the pilots is complicated by the fact that in today’s cars you can not see the exact position of the wheels. And here the track itself is luring you to go wider. We must surely understand by next year, making the situation more understandable for the racers. 

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff added: “All these fines have been a big disappointment for fans, teams and drivers. There are only two solutions. You can return the “sausage”, which will destroy cars, but then no one will complain. Or you can just let them go the way you want. This is what Niki Lauda has always wanted.

But the decision should reflect the interests of the owners of the track, since we all want one thing: to see bright races, the results of which are not determined by fines. But since there are rules, in this case the fines were fair.”