Sep.13 (GMM) Even Madring ambassador Carlos Sainz says Madrid’s new Formula 1 circuit needs changes, particularly over visibility and safety, while several leading drivers are also criticising aspects of the layout.
Sainz said street circuits commonly evolve after their debut and expects Madring to be no different. “Without a doubt, I think the circuit will have some improvements,” he said after qualifying.
“I think they should be open to changes suggested by the drivers, and I think we will suggest changes to the FIA and see how much flexibility there is.”
His biggest concern is visibility at high speed.
“Just like in Jeddah and Baku, visibility is poor,” said the Williams driver.
“Driving at 260-270 kph on a straight where you can’t see anything is, without a doubt, a revealing experience and makes you question the safety of it all.”
Max Verstappen was even more critical of the circuit design process.
“I’d change almost every braking zone here,” said the quadruple world champion.
“Give me a map, and I’ll fix it.”
“Are we drivers ever asked for our opinions? No, not really. They really should ask before they build a circuit.”
Polesitter Lando Norris also thinks the organisers missed an opportunity with the pitlane, which he joked was “six kilometres long”.
“It’s the longest pitlane of the year and biggest pit loss of the year as well. So that just makes overtaking worse.”
“If we’re going to build a new track and spend so much money in building a new track, this is probably one of the main factors.”
Norris still described the circuit as fun and produced what he called one of the best qualifying laps of his career.
“I looked at the lap time at the end and you’re like, ‘Oh s**t, that was pretty good.'” said the on-form reigning world champion.
Championship leader Kimi Antonelli, meanwhile, expects extreme tyre degradation to shape the opening stint.
“Probably it’s going to be grandmother driving in the first 10 laps,” said the Mercedes star, who starts P2 ahead of Verstappen.
“We saw in the long run how steep the degradation can be, especially if you push too early.”
Verstappen also backed Fernando Alonso’s criticism of La Monumental, arguing the spectacular corner is being ruined by F1’s current energy management issue.
“I wanted to go flat, but then my battery dies, so you add a lift to have better deployment.”
“That’s my Monumental experience,” said the Red Bull driver.