The Madring tested and thrilled drivers over one lap, but the Spanish Grand Prix was plagued by a chronic lack of overtaking.
Nico Rosberg, the 2016 world champion, claimed that “we need to criticise Carlos Sainz” for this, following comments from Max Verstappen for greater driver input in circuit design.
Nico Rosberg calls out Carlos Sainz over Madring
The Spanish Grand Prix was a processional affair with race winning Kimi Antonelli needing only to conserve his tyres outside of Charles Leclerc’s dirty air before the Ferrari pitted and freed him into the lead.
Lando Norris was on a recovery mission after his earlier Virtual Safety Car heartbreak, but there was no way past P2 Max Verstappen.
Rosberg was not impressed and pointed to Sainz’s ambassadorial role with the Madring as a contributing factor to the circuit’s struggle to create an engaging race.
Sainz was reluctant to criticise the Madring, but did say, when quizzed on the circuit by PlanetF1.com, that “we have a couple of options maybe to look into.”
He asked that the circuit is “open-minded.”
He continued: “Right now, it’s a great qualifying track, but it also needs to be a good race track. Hopefully, if the circuit keeps its mind open and the FIA to changes, it means probably that we can add a couple of overtaking spots in the future that might put this race even higher on our favourite list of circuits.”
After Sky F1’s Simon Lazenby questioned why a track where drivers cannot overtake was designed from scratch, Rosberg replied: “And Carlos Sainz was the ambassador, so we need to criticise Carlos Sainz.
“They need to revisit the track layout for next year and create one good overtaking opportunity. We need that on this track, because it’s just too hard to overtake.
“It was pretty shocking, like [Oscar] Piastri on [Franco] Colapinto, for example. Piastri had fresh tyres, and he could not get past, and he was so much quicker. It’s just super hard to overtake.”
Verstappen, as well as calling for drivers to have more of a say in circuit design, also stressed that there is “always a way to find an overtaking opportunity around a track” regardless of space available.
It was a largely negative response from the drivers to the Madring race, as suggestions to improve the spectacle on a Sunday emerged.
“It definitely doesn’t create overtaking opportunities and it doesn’t push you to try and make a move, because 80 per cent of the time, you might have contact,” said Antonelli.
“So, I think especially in the second chicane, if I would have turned in, me and Lando would have touched and probably gone in the wall and blocked the road. Definitely wouldn’t have been nice.
“So, I think there are some corners that need to be changed to create more overtaking opportunities because right now, yes, it’s nice over one lap, but in the race you’re just stuck behind.”
Norris said: “I think there are some obvious changes they should make. They should get rid of [Turn] 18, 19. Useless. Just have more of a straight into a hairpin.
“I don’t know how someone looks at this design and goes, ‘Mint.’
“I think there’s a lot of opportunity. I think they can make it into a track that’s good for racing, and I’m excited to come back here next year if they can make these changes, because I think it’s a track that is good fun to drive and it can be a great racetrack. To me, it’s not a great racetrack. It’s great in qualifying.
“But, straight line from 17 straight to 20, have a much wider entry like Austin Turn 1 or Turn 10 in Austin, big hairpin. You’ll create much better opportunities for everyone and you’ll be able to enjoy the race.
“There are some simple changes and maybe some trickier ones, like Turn 5, 6, 7. It’s hard to know exactly what’s the best thing. The fact you have to turn and brake basically defeats the whole object of racing. So, they can do some simple changes, I think, easy changes and maybe some more tricky, but I hope they do it because then it should be more exciting for everyone.”
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“I almost fell asleep as well,” was the telling verdict from Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto to PlanetF1.com and others.
Sainz’s fellow Spaniard Fernando Alonso highlighted “Turn 5, 6, 7” as an area which could be tweaked, but highlighted that “There is a bridge there. So I think it’s going to be challenging.”
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
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Originally published by Planet F1 —
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