Run-off

Run-off is the area beyond the track that gives a car leaving it room to slow down safely.

Also called run off area, gravel trap

Gravel traps drag a car to a halt quickly and usually end its race. Asphalt run-off is safer at high speed and lets a driver rejoin — which is also its criticism, since a mistake carries no cost and drivers can gain time by running wide.

That tension is why track limits are policed by a white line rather than by consequence: on an asphalt run-off, nothing physical stops a driver taking more road than the circuit allows.