FIA rolls out new AI system to help police track limits at Austrian GP
The FIA has overseen a number of changes to track limits at the Red Bull Ring to try and avoid a repeat of the post-race penalties that were required at last year’s Austrian Grand Prix.
In 2023, eight drivers were handed a total of 12 penalties long after the race had finished, with a final race result not being delivered until some five hours after the provisional race classification had been published. That was due to there being over 1200 instances of potential track limits infringements that needed to be looked at by race control; the frequency being too quick and the process taking too long for it to keep up during the race itself.
At the time, the FIA suggested the addition of gravel traps would be a major step forward but it is down to the circuits themselves to make such a change, and they have other considerations. Following last year’s race, though, the Red Bull Ring has now installed 2.5-meter wide gravel traps on the outside of Turn 9 and Turn 10, the final two corners.
On top of this, the outside of Turn 4 has had its exit curb reduced in width, bringing the gravel trap closer to the track edge and ensuring an advantage can’t be gained by crossing the white line with all four tires.
Potentially the biggest difference, though, is the introduction of AI technology to increase the speed of reporting incidents. A blue line has been painted between the white line that denotes the track edge and the exit curb at multiple corners, allowing the automated technology to more easily identify when a car has clearly left the track. All four wheels across the white line will lead to blue being seen, and these incidents will then be instantly saved as clips and sent to race control to review, rapidly improving the amount of time it takes to make a judgement.
The technology has been learning at other circuits throughout this season, and the blue lines were visible on the exit of a number of corners at last weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix.
Race control will also have support from five personnel in the FIA’s Remote Operations Center (ROC) in Geneva.
The technology will be put to the test in four competitive sessions this weekend as it’s a Sprint event in Austria, with just one practice session before Sprint qualifying on Friday afternoon.
