Author of the best time in the first EL1 in the history of the Madring, George Russell believes that the new Madrid circuit leaves even less margin for error than Monaco due to the speeds reached.
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George Russell perfectly started his Madrid weekend by setting the best time in EL1 at 1’34’’077, with 0’’286 ahead of his teammate Kimi Antonelli.
But even before taking to the track, the Briton had warned that the new Spanish layout would probably not forgive many mistakes.
The walls come quickly
“In Monaco, the walls are closer, but since you go much slower, if you make a mistake, you are not as quickly in the wall and you can sometimes recover it, for example during a small wheel lock-up”, explains Russell.
The Madring presents a different issue. Some sections are significantly faster and the geometry of the barriers could amplify the consequences of a trajectory exit.
“There are many really fast corners, but the barrier kind of comes back towards the track. notes the English driver So, if you go wide and touch the wall, you don’t hit it at an angle that corresponds to the direction of the car. The wall kind of comes towards you.”
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Several particularly tricky corners
Russell notably identified corners 5, 7, and 17 as areas to watch. Charles Leclerc also went straight into the runoff of one of these sectors during EL1.
The Mercedes driver also expects to see many wheel lock-ups during the weekend: “There are three corners where you turn while braking and, if you lock a wheel, the wall is right in front of you. It’s very reminiscent of turn 15 in Baku. ”
Another part of the Madring, made up of fast sequences, reminds him more of Jeddah, another street circuit known for its very high speeds and the proximity of the walls.
Despite these concerns expressed before the session, the first EL1s ultimately took place without major accidents. Several drivers, however, came close to or slightly touched the barriers, notably Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, without damaging their cars, while traffic management will need to be particularly careful to avoid high-speed collisions.
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