The FIA and the Austin race promoter are in discussions over installing adjustable gravel traps for Formula 1’s 2025 United States Grand Prix, Motorsport.com understands.
This approach is aimed at solving the track limits controversy involving Red Bull’s world champion Max Verstappen and McLaren driver Lando Norris that marred the end of last Sunday’s race at the Circuit of the Americas.
The Austin track had already made considerable effort to avoid further F1 track limits sagas during its recent major resurfacing work, following the 2023 race where Haas sought a right of review over track limits abuse it felt should have been sanctioned.
Turns 6, 13, 14 and 15 at Austin were narrowed, along with cameras installed to monitor track limits at various places, while Turn 11’s run-off was covered in a resin-bound ‘fake’ gravel-filled insert.
But the track did not install the small gravel trap solution the FIA has worked to develop for 2024 that was first installed at Austria’s Red Bull Ring and called the “perfect set-up” by F1 race director, Niels Wittich
This approach involves narrowing kerbs and painting white lines to ensure cars cannot be run on these fully without going off track, but critically a small gravel track is installed behind a kerb to act as a deterrent to drivers really pushing track limits – with the whole aspect designed to be easy for tracks to revise when it comes to holding motorbike events that cannot have gravel for safety reasons.
Track detail with gravel traps
Photo by: Jon Noble
Motorsport.com understands that as part of its rollout of the removable gravel trap feature, all F1 tracks were asked to consider installing it at certain contentious corners.
The idea was therefore put to the Austin race organiser ahead of the 2024 event that ended with Norris dropping off the podium for overtaking Verstappen outside track limits at Turn 12 at the end of the track’s long main straight – where the Red Bull was also running off the road.
The pair had also clashed in a similar incident – albeit with Verstappen as the attacker the whole way through the move – at the first corner of the Austin race where they also both went off the road.
There was much discussion in the media over the idea of installing the adjustable gravel traps used at the Red Bull Ring as a solution for Turn 1 and 12 at Austin in the immediate aftermath of last weekend’s race.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, battle into turn 1, as Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24 overtakes Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24
Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images
Motorsport.com understands that the FIA has again raised the idea with the Austin promoter following the race’s controversial ending.
However, it only has the power to force circuits to make such design changes on safety grounds, which, given the current saga focuses on sporting clashes, this does not cover.
Austin also must consider how any gravel traps might impact safety at the MotoGP event it has hosted since 2013 and the adjustable gravel traps solution is also understood to come with considerable extra cost to any track that wants to install them.
COTA boss Bobby Epstein had said ahead of this year’s US GP that the adjustable gravel trap solution was not suitable for the Texas venue at this stage.
“You can’t have both,” he said. “You can’t cut into the track and put in gravel, then flip it back and hope it stays watertight when you have clay underneath it.
“So, there’s some back-and-forth challenges to it.”
Pedro Acosta, Red Bull GASGAS Tech3
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
This topic was also much discussed ahead of this weekend’s race in Mexico, where the F1 drivers had to field many questions about the Verstappen/Norris incidents on the event’s media day.
Mercedes driver George Russell said: “For me, the root cause of the problem is having a circuit that allows you to run wide.
“And if we take Austria last year as an example, you had, I don’t know, 300 track limit problems. They put gravel in, and there’s no problems.
“If you put gravel in on that corner [Turn 12 at Austin], Lando doesn’t go off and overtake, and Max doesn’t break that late and go off as well. So, I think we need to tackle the root cause.”
COTA has been approached for comment on this article.
