Circuit of the Americas owner Bobby Epstein has answered Max Verstappen's claim that the bumps in Austin are "out of control". He insists the track is "in really good shape" with the sole exception of Turn 1, and he admits that problem has no quick fix.
Prior to this weekend's US GP action, Verstappen slammed the "unacceptable" track surface at COTA after initially joking post-Singapore that he would need a "new spine" after the Austin weekend.
"I was joking about that in the last race, but it's not really a joke to be honest. We mentioned this already for years, that it's actually getting a bit out of control," Verstappen said on Thursday.
"I love this track, I love this place. It's one of the best layouts ever and it's one of the best venues, best city to be at. But for me the bumps are unacceptable. Over time they've been grinding a little bit here and there but it's just putting a plaster on the big problem."
The 29-year-old later revealed spine damage he believes he has suffered as a consequence of bumpy F1 tracks, with an increasing concern the older he gets. Verstappen added: "It’s really not nice, and I think sometimes people don’t really understand that because I can tell you from the checks that I’ve done from my spine, the bottom end doesn’t look that great, the spine."
Epstein admits Turn 1 dip has no easy fix
Photo: Race Pictures
Speaking to ESPN, COTA boss Epstein did not reject the criticism completely. He admitted that one spot at the bottom of Turn 1 falls short, but is confident the rest of the track is in "really good shape" having spoken to WEC drivers after their recent outing in Austin.
"We don't feel good that there's a bump at the bottom of Turn 1," Epstein said. "We didn't know about it until this week. We would have fixed it. But the other things Max spoke about, all the bumps around the track, we've fixed them. The track is in really good shape.
"I talked to some WEC drivers who said there's no problem. There's one bump at the beginning of [Turn] 1 that is not acceptable in my mind ... It's a dip, not a bump. If it were a bump, we'd sharpen it out, we'd take care of it tomorrow night, or overnight tonight, and that kind of stuff's happened before [at other circuits]. But when it's a dip it's a lot different, there's no easy fix."
'I had no problem with him saying what he said'
Photo: Race Pictures
Epstein also made it clear he did not take Verstappen's comments personally, and even joked that he had no doubt the Red Bull driver would agree with him once he had driven the track.
"Max doesn't say I'm wrong a lot, but he's also right a lot, and he's usually very frank, and I appreciate that about him," Epstein added. "I had no problem with him saying what he said. I think he might be surprised in some areas that bumps he thought were here aren't any more."
While not exactly scathing, Verstappen's initial assessment of Friday's practice action perhaps hasn't quite matched Epstein's expectations. The four-time world champion still flagged COTA's bumpy surface as a challenge during FP1 and FP2.
In his brief review, Verstappen said: “It’s been a positive start to the weekend. This track is never easy when it comes to finding the right compromise between the low and high-speed corners."
"The bumps make it even more difficult, so you’re trying to find a good balance in the car and get into a rhythm. That’s what we’ve been working on between FP1 and FP2. There’s still a bit more work to do to fine-tune that balance, but it wasn’t a bad day at all.”