Formula 1 drivers have urged the Miami Grand Prix organisers to replace the concrete barrier at the corner where Carlos Sainz Jnr and Esteban Ocon suffered heavy crashes.
The Miami International Autodrome is staging its inaugural grand prix this weekend, and the concrete barrier at turn 14 has drawn sharp criticism after two separate incidents within 24 hours.
Sainz and Ocon both lost control at turn 13 and struck the barrier at turn 14 in separate accidents on Friday and Saturday. Ocon’s impact was severe enough to crack his chassis, preventing him from taking part in qualifying.
“Carlos complained to the race director, we are all there listening to it and nothing has been done,” Ocon said. “There was a discussion last night, Carlos said the impact was way too big for what it should have been and today it felt huge, it’s probably the biggest shunt of my career.
“So yesterday Carlos got hurt, I got hurt today as well. The FIA should push harder for our safety. But the important thing is that we are able to race.”
Fernando Alonso, Ocon’s teammate, said Sainz’s crash highlighted the need for a different barrier at that corner.
“We are in the car and we know how it feels when you hit the wall,” Alonso said. “And Carlos was very clear yesterday that it was not right to have just the wall there, not other protection.
“So today we had another accident, same place, same angle, another driver was hurt. So tomorrow we have the second chance to put something there.”
Lance Stroll described it as “ridiculous” that concrete blocks were used instead of TecPro barriers, which are commonly employed to absorb impacts through layers of plastic and polystyrene.
“They should just put it,” he said. “I don’t know what the big fuss about it is, no one wants to hit a concrete wall.”
The force of the impacts alarmed other drivers. Sergio Perez said they were surprised by the high G-forces recorded in Sainz’s crash. “We were surprised with the amount of G [force] that Carlos had in this corner,” he said. “It’s such a little accident and so many G.
“We don’t want to see that again. We want extra precaution in future and avoid all those kind of heavy accidents.”
However, Perez acknowledged that immediate changes might not have been feasible given the limited time between sessions.
Sebastian Vettel also said the barrier type must be reviewed, even if changes cannot be made overnight. “It will always damage the car when you go off but the question is where you’re landing, whether there’s concrete or TecPro,” he said. “I don’t know what can be done overnight but when we come back, it’s important to look at all the places and see whether you can improve.
“Also around the straights, I think we should have SAFER walls, we shouldn’t just have these concrete blocks,” Vettel added. The Steel And Foam Energy Reduction (SAFER) barrier is widely used across American motorsport.
“Especially when we are coming up with circuit designs that have channelling around the straights, where you can’t see,” he continued. “You don’t even need to go off, you can have a puncture which is not your fault and it’s always nicer to hit something softer rather than harder.”
Lewis Hamilton, in contrast, said he had no major safety concerns about the track as it stands. “When we come to these new tracks, they do their best job. I think they’ve done a great job in all of these new tracks with safety,” he said.
“You can’t predict every single corner where we’re going to need TecPro. But safety on track is great. So I think, after an experience like this weekend, we can know that that’s an area that we can improve on. That’s part of the lessons we learn.”
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