Max Verstappen has led the calls from Formula 1 drivers asking for the Circuit of the Americas to undergo a track resurfacing ahead of the running of next year’s event.
Since the purpose-built track arrived on the F1 calendar in 2012, the Texan venue has managed to establish itself as one of the more popular ones among the drivers.
However, that has been offset by criticism from competitors in F1 and MotoGP regarding the large number of bumps present throughout the 5.514km track.
Despite the circuit reacting to those complaints by repaving certain points of the track, the past weekend’s racing action saw many drivers struggle with ride quality.
Verstappen insists that the current surface is more optimal for rallying, adding that the situation needs to urgently be addressed to return the track to a suitable F1 standard.
“It needs to be redone because at the moment it feels like it’s better suited to a rally car,” said the Red Bull driver. “I’m jumping and bouncing around.
“In an F1 car probably you don’t even see it as much because, of course, we are glued to the ground because of the downforce, but the bumps and jumps that we have in some places, this is way too much. I don’t think it’s F1 level.
“I love this track, honestly, the layout is amazing,” he continued. “But we definitely need new tarmac and it needs to be a lot smoother for the coming years because we have already been asking for this for I think quite a few years and it’s not really been done.”
Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton echoed Verstappen’s remonstrations, citing that COTA oversteps the mark when it comes to bumps adding character to a racetrack.
“It is bumpy. I mean, I like some of the bumps because it adds character to a circuit, but there’s way too many,” he admitted. As drivers we’re open to discussing with them and helping them, like maybe not doing the whole thing so it costs a fortune.
“From the last corner to the start line, for example, that’s smooth, but then the rest is bumpy. The pit lane is smooth. But there are other areas that for sure we could patch up and improve.”
Following renovations completed last year, the track was also resurfaced in Turns 12 and 14-16 before this season’s grand prix.
However, Lando Norris asserts that only served to amplify the issue on certain parts.
“They resurfaced some places, and they start the [new] tarmac at the 100-metre border into Turn 12 which is where we brake,” he contended. “So there’s just little things they could do.
“But from what I heard, they’re resurfacing the first sector or something next year, so we’ll hope it’s a little bit better.”
Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas also conceded that the minor patches had delivered no improvement, citing that bumps appear in differing areas on each annual visit.
“No, it’s still the same, no improvement,” the Finn said. “If feels like every year the bumps are in different places, but there are always bumps. I mean, that’s one of the characteristics of this track.”
The bumps forced Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso to exit the race with floor damage, while Hamilton and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc were disqualified post-race for excessive plank wear on the floor of their cars.
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