Max Verstappen says the new Madring F1 circuit is “probably a car killer” with several drivers expecting a disruptive Spanish Grand Prix weekend.
The proximity of the walls on the high-speed track, which includes a large banked corner in the middle sector, was the big talk of the paddock on Thursday.
It means Friday practice sessions at 12.30pm and 4pm, live Sky Sports F1will be more important than usual so that drivers can increase speed around the challenging circuit.
“It’s a tough track. For me, what I feel when I’m driving, it’s a bit of the same kind of feeling that I sometimes have around Jeddah in places,” said Verstappen.
“Of course, Jeddah is faster on average through the corners, but the walls are quite similar in the way they are positioned.
“It’s going to be difficult. I think when F3 was testing here there was a lot of cheating, so it’s not an easy track, it’s easy to make a mistake even with the layout of the track. The boards that are there, we have to go over some of them, and that’s not normally our car’s strong point, but we’ll try to do the best we can.”
Asked if it was a car killer, Verstappen added: “Maybe it is a car killer from what I’ve seen so far, but you just have to try to stay off the walls and try to get the best possible feeling in the car. When you’re confident in the car on a street circuit, it helps a lot.”
Last month, a two-day Formula 3 test took place at Madring and there were 19 red flags, mainly for crashes in some areas of the track.
Williams’ Carlos Sainz, who has provided some input into the circuit design, says the track is “different to what we’re used to”.
“Realistically speaking, it will now be tomorrow in FP1 when we really know what this track is about. And I will say it looks different,” he said.
“It seems that the track has character, that it is charismatic, with many different types of corners.”
Madring F1 Track Layout (Credit: F1)
The most dangerous circuit on the calendar?
Qualifying is expected to be crucial due to the difficulty of overtaking as most corners have only one racing line, so drivers will be keen to push the limits on Saturday afternoon, even if it means taking big risks.
Last week’s runner-up Pierre Gasly believes it will create “great adrenaline” for the drivers.
“The layout of the track is something I’ve never seen before. You have these crazy corners, blind corners, a big bank,” said the Alpine driver.
“It took me a few laps on the kart to get my head around where it is. It’s very challenging because everything is crooked. I’m excited. I’m expecting a really hectic weekend with a lot of breaks and mistakes and we’ll have to make sure we’re on the right side.”
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F1 review of the new Madring track!
It will be especially important for the championship contenders to stay out of the barriers so they don’t lose big points to their rivals.
After his spectacular victory at Monza, Kimi Antonelli leads George Russell by 66 points in the drivers’ championship, Lewis Hamilton by 76 points and Lando Norris by 96 points.
“It’s a crazy circuit. I would call it the most dangerous circuit of the entire calendar because you have real high-speed corners, like in Jeddah. The walls are very close, so there’s no margin for error,” Russell said.
“But then you have other corners that are quite like Baku, where you’re coming from a high speed into a slow braking zone, braking and spinning at the same time, so locking the tires will be easy. And if you lock, you’ll be straight into the wall.”
Despite its narrowness, the Turn 5 chicane is one of the few overtaking spots at Madring
Hamilton added: “There are probably some similarities with these brakes compared to somewhere like Montreal where you saw the Mercedes were very quick, but there were also a lot more straights there.
“It’s a very challenging circuit. Of all the new tracks I’ve been to, this, probably the Saudis, are the two closest in terms of how difficult it was to get on top of the car and find the right lines etc.”
Sky Sports F1 Spanish GP live schedule
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First look at F1’s newest circuit – ‘Madring’
Friday September 11th
8.50 am: Exercises F3
10.00am: Exercises F2
12:00: First practice of the Spanish Grand Prix (session starts at 12:30)
12.55: Qualifying F2
14:40: Press conference of the team bosses
15:45: Second Practice of the Spanish Grand Prix (session starts at 16:00)
17:20: Qualifier F3
18:20: F1 show
Saturday, September 12
10am: F3 Sprint
11:00: Third Practice of the Spanish Grand Prix (session starts at 11.30)
13:10: F2 Sprint
14:15: Qualifying preparation of the Spanish Grand Prix
15:00: QUALIFICATION OF THE SPANISH GRAND PRIX*
16:55: F3 Feature Race 1
18:00: Ted’s qualifying notebook
Sunday, September 13
8.40am: F3 Feature Race 2
10.20: F2 feature race
12:30 p.m.: Grand Prix Sunday: Preparation for the Spanish GP
14:00: Spanish Grand Prix
16:00: Checkered flag: Spanish GP reaction
17:00: Ted’s notebook
*also on Sky Sports Main Event
Formula 1 is in Madrid for the Spanish Grand Prix at the new Madring circuit with Sunday’s race at 2.30pm (build-up from 12.30pm), live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime
