"I'll put my money on a red flag, that's for sure," said Pierre Gasly when asked what he thought of Formula 1's new Madring street circuit.
Risk and difficulty level have been the common denominators in conversation with drivers about the Spanish Grand Prix track and its layout. Well perhaps not Lance Stroll, but at least he managed a distant orbit of the topic, saying, "I think we're going to be busy, very busy."
While all the drivers have tackled the track in their simulators, the only real-world reference so far, apart from a mildly controversial Ferrari filming day in July, has been a Formula 3 test late last month. It is fair to say this did not go well, with no fewer than 19 red flags and three wrecked cars.
The incidents that brought out the red flags, and triggered some unwelcome repair bills, were not concentrated in one specific area but spread out through the lap, mostly in the second sector where there are a number of chicanes and blind corners, plus the banked 'La Monumental'. One of the more intriguing facets of canvassing driver opinion on this track is the fact that so few of them are being negative about the Madring, even while comparing it with Jeddah, whose layout was revised between its first and second appearances on the calendar in response to criticism.
