What is the Austrian F1 controversy? During Austrian Grand Prix qualifying 47 laps were deleted for exceeding track limits, including those of Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, who started 15th as a result and finished third on Sunday. In the race, drivers were warned after two breaches and then shown a black and white flag on the third. A fourth brought a referral to stewards and a five-second penalty. Further transgressions meant more penalties. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon ended up with 30sec added to his time after two five-second sanctions and two 10sec ones. The problem could be largely blamed on the circuit, with large asphalt runoff areas rather than gravel in the last two turns — nine and 10 — on a layout that also has to accommodate MotoGP. Raised “sausage curbs” used previously have been removed due to the amount of damage caused to cars running over them. The FIA has also appeared to be stricter in policing the rules, with a remote operations center to ensure correct procedures are followed. “We will renew our recommendation to the circuit to add a gravel trap at the exit of turns nine and 10,” said an FIA spokesperson. “We note that while this is not a straightforward solution in relation to other series that race here, it has proved to be very effective at other corners and circuits with similar issues.” Drivers said poor peripheral visibility made it hard to see exactly where the limits were and following in the aerodynamic “dirty air” of cars in front also had an effect.