Shortly after his qualifying session at the Madring in Madrid, Max Verstappen was highly critical of the layout of the Spanish circuit on Saturday evening. While telling his story to a small delegation of the Dutch press, the four-time world champion from Red Bull glanced at the TV and saw the massive crash at the start of the Formula 3 race. Somewhat sarcastically: “If nothing changes, this is what you get…”
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Max Verstappen called the Madring a circuit with potential after his strong P3 in qualifying, but according to him, several adjustments need to be made. “Which ones? Almost all braking zones. Is that easily achievable? Well, if you give me the circuit map, I’ll sort it out.”
But actually, better thought should be given to the layout of a circuit from the start, Verstappen believes. “I sometimes have contact with a track designer and then you exchange ideas. Ultimately, a driver knows very well what is needed and what a good corner should look like. And there are, of course, plenty of good examples, such as Circuit of the Americas in Austin. You can race well there, some corners are nicely wide, and you can at least make a move. But on the side here, everything is nicely finished and well organized for the first time. Only, in certain places, I think you can adjust some things to make it a bit better for overtaking. Now there is basically only one racing line everywhere, and it is very easy to defend.”
In the lead-up to the race weekend in Madrid, several drivers already labeled the circuit in the Spanish capital as dangerous. Verstappen, dryly and with a sidelong glance at the television where the mess of the F3 race is still on screen: “We saw that well.”
But, Max Verstappen concludes, the Madring is a circuit with potential. Provided the necessary adjustments are made. “I think so. I’ve never really been a fan of street circuits, but there are worse ones on the calendar.”
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