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LiveROUND 12/23 · Dutch GP next
F1 Beginner's Guide

Track Limits

Where the track legally ends, why a lap can be deleted, and how repeat offences turn into penalties.

Track limits sound like a technicality until a deleted lap costs a pole or a podium. The rule is simple: stay inside the white lines.

The white line rule

The track is defined by the solid white lines at its edges. A car has left the track if all four wheels go beyond the white line. Run wide there and any lap time you set is deleted, which matters enormously in qualifying.

Gaining an advantage

In the race, leaving the track and coming back faster, or completing a pass off track, counts as gaining an advantage. The usual fix is to hand the position back; ignore it and the stewards step in with a penalty.

Strikes add up

Most circuits use a tally. Cross the limit too many times, often three warnings, and the next offence brings a penalty. It keeps drivers honest at corners where running wide is tempting and fast.