Written by Owen Bradley, Edited by Ishani Aziz
Sausage kerbs are dangerous, ineffective and outdated. They were designed to ensure that drivers do not exceed track limits or cut corners on the track, but in recent years sausage kerbs have been giving us far more problems than solutions. Let’s take a look at the examples through the years…
Exhibit A: F1 Monza 2021 - Turn 2: Verstappen vs Hamilton
The rather famous incident between Verstappen and Hamilton. Regardless of who was at fault, the fact of the matter is that the sausage kerb which Verstappen ran over, propelled his car over the top of Hamilton’s. We ended up with the right-rear tyre of Verstappen, hitting and resting on Lewis Hamilton’s helmet, who was thankfully unharmed because of the halo. The kerb was ultimately what made that incident so dangerous.
Exhibit B: F3 - Macau 2018: Sofia Floersch
Sofia Floersch had had a crash on the build up to the corner but it was on the inside of that corner, where the sausage kerbs were placed, that her car went airborne and over the barriers. This was particularly dangerous given it was a street track. This left her with a spinal fracture, but also endangered fans and marshals standing behind the barrier.
Exhibit C: F2: Silverstone 2022 - Dennis Hauger and Roy Nissany
The most recent example which has inspired this article is Dennis Hauger and Roy Nissany’s incident. They had been fighting hard with each other when they made heavy contact, sending Hauger straight into the path of Nissany. The nature off the corner meant that the front wing of Hauger would have ended up straight into the helmet of Nissany had it not been for this godsend of the halo.
Exhibit D: F3 - Race 1, Monza 2020 - Alex Peroni
The list of unfortunate examples continues. This was a strange crash where Alex Peroni went wide at the final corner, at Monza. There was a sausage kerb sitting on the edge of the track, which he ran over, sending him and the car airborne, and over the barriers at the edge of the track.
Exhibit E: Formula E - Beijing ePrix - Nico Prost and Nick Heidfeld
In Formula E’s inaugural ePrix at Beijing, Nico Prost (son of Alain Prost, 4-Time F1 World Champion) collided with Nick Heidfeld, and sent Heidfeld straight into the path of a sausage kerb, which launched the car into the air into a barrier before landing on its roof.
Exhibit F: Formula Regional Monza 2021 - David Vidales and Dino Beganovic
Hard racing went a bit too far, as the pair ran each other off the road at Turn 4 in Monza, cutting the chicane. When they attempted to rejoin the track, one of the cars pulled a wheelie, and ran into the path of the other, creating a crash in the middle of a straight. Luckily, neither driver was harmed.
So, there you have it the sausage kerb has exacerbated a fair few incidents, adding fuel to the fire of already dangerous crashes. Is it time for these kerbs to go? Let us know in the comments down below!
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They have to go - I can't see they serve a safety purpose at all and if a part of their design is to attempt policing track limits then better ways exist - like the MSV circuits pressure pads and cameras. It all reminds me of Senna's rant at Monsieur Balestre when they decided in their wisdom to put a tyre barrier chicane midway down the straight, Barcelona I think but another example of it occured at Eau Rouge too for the Belgian round, requiring drivers basically to drive straight toward a 4 or 5 high stack of tyres. Senna was basically saying nothing that resembled a ramp or launchpad had a place at an F1 racetrack. The footage of…
What do we think everyone? remove the sausage kerbs? or do they still have a place in motorsport?