For me it's the opposite. If it's a rule meant for safety, then they need to draw a hard line. Didn't somebody get done in within the past couple years for being a little short on the mandatory 1L fuel collection post race? They took it as cut and dry and there was no safety implications there but a sporting breach. Even in your argument, track limits aren't for safety, it's a sporting issue. Perez and Verstappen's infractions were treated as sporting issues rather than the safety issues they were - makes no difference if anyone was in danger at the time, because you could extend that to a pit lane speeding violation on entry/exit.
Alpine and Alonso need their ass beat for that stunt, but that was in their right to do. Shameful as fukk to take a literal Sunday drive around the track while a race is happening. But that shyt shows why they'll probably be on a perpetual 5 year plan until they pull out again at the next cheapest opportunity.