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During the opening two free practice sessions in Austin ahead of the United States Grand Prix, stewards deleted a staggering 207 lap times across 23 drivers for track limit violations.
In practice, such infractions carry few real consequences, as drivers are simply exploring the limits of their cars, with the penalty limited solely to having the offending lap time scrubbed.
In qualifying, however, a similar mistake could result in an early elimination. Come race day, the regulations are even stricter: three track limit breaches trigger a black-and-white warning flag, while a fourth violation results in a five-second time penalty.
While Friday's overall tally is eye-watering, it is unlikely to match the chaos of the 2023 Austrian Grand Prix weekend. That event saw over 1,200 violations recorded, prompting widespread post-race penalties and drastically altering the final classification.
Williams driver Alex Albon topped the unwanted list in Austin, racking up a whopping 21 infringements behind the wheel of a tricky car. Lando Norris followed closely behind, seeing 18 of his laps wiped out by the stewards.
At the opposite end of the spectrum was Valtteri Bottas, who was pinged just once for exceeding track limits during FP2. The Finn and Esteban Ocon were the only drivers taking part in both sessions to complete at least one without a single deleted time.
How will things unfold today? Especially with qualifying raising the stakes and making every mistake far more costly.
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