Former Formula 1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya has called for a track limits rule rethink after Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli was penalised during the British Grand Prix.
The Italian driver had been on course to challenge Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc for the victory at Silverstone before his car suffered a left-hand wheel shield failure in the closing stages. The resulting loss of aerodynamic load severely compromised the championship leader’s pace, forcing him to pit and wrestle the car to the chequered flag in a bid to salvage any points he could.
As the Mercedes driver struggled to keep his damaged car within the white lines, he accrued multiple track limits strikes. This resulted in a five-second time penalty, adding to a disastrous race for Antonelli.
Speaking on the post-race broadcast for F1 TV, Montoya argued that a driver should only be handed a track limits penalty if they are gaining an advantage, and should be spared if the infringements are due to an issue with the car.
“Something that is a really good point from Mercedes is they need to look at the track limits because if you do a track limit and you actually lose time by going wide, you shouldn’t really count as a track limit,” the Colombian explained.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Photo by: James Sutton / LAT Images via Getty Images
“There should be a rule that says if you leave the track and you gain an advantage, it should count as a track limit. But if your car fails and you end up with penalties because your car failed, it shouldn’t really be a penalty.”
Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff addressed his driver’s penalty while speaking to Motorsport.com and other media after the race.
“I think for the FIA, certainly it’s always difficult to judge. Is the car so damaged that it should actually come in? In that case, I think the car was fine. It was just one feature that it was really difficult to turn. So I hope that they accept that situation, but I don’t know what the outcome will be.”
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