Max Verstappen reveals the extent of Gs he endured last year in the US GP due to the bumps at the Circuit of the Americas, as F1 drivers chip in.
The bumps at the Circuit of the Americas are a ticking time bomb, as per Red Bull’s Verstappen. After making the RoboCop reference in Singapore, the Dutchman expanded on what could be the core problem of the track.
He has no complaints about the layout or the city or the atmosphere that the US GP has, but the nasty bumps are a serious downer amongst all the good things on offer. He reckons the promoters have to make wholesale changes rather than putting plaster in areas of concern and getting on with the work.
Verstappen Reckons Putting Plaster is Not a Solution
“Well, it’s not, it’s probably worse because we have very low ride heights in cornering,” Verstappen said to the media ahead of the F1 US GP. “Because on the straights, you have the Straight Mode, so you go up. So, in most places, under braking, especially, you actually bottom out more than before.
“Because most of the bumps are under braking or in the corner, not on the actual straight. But yeah, it’s very bad, and, of course, you can use the excuse that the soil is the problem, but then you should have known that, and you need to make sure that you reinforce it more.
“And I mean, I love this track. I love this place. Like, it’s one of the best layouts ever, and it’s one of the, I would say, best venues, best city to be at. But for me, the bumps that we have are unacceptable. I mean, over time, they’ve been grinding a little bit here and there, but it’s just you putting a plaster on the big problem.
Put in Money to Erase Them
“And that’s just what’s coming underneath, and that’s what you need to actually tackle in the first place. But that, of course, means you need to really fully open up the track. That costs a lot of money and time, but honestly, that’s the only way to get rid of it because these bumps are not natural and they are out of control,” summed up Verstappen.
When pressed further to understand his complaints and how much it really affects the body, Verstappen revealed the impact from last year. He noted that the lower spine recorded an impact of over 9G, which is serious damage to anyone’s back.
One may not feel as much at a younger age, but it will culminate in a larger problem as they grow. In fact, Verstappen checked himself with the doctor, and he could see the damage done to his lower spine. He acknowledges the sport is such, but he wants F1 to control what can be controlled.
Verstappen Reveals Damage to Spine
“Well, so last year, for example, you pull around 5–6G in a corner, but I had some impacts like vertical load, which was like over 9G on my spine, which I can tell you is really not fun, and especially the older you get, you think about that more and more,” continued Verstappen. “Yeah, that’s not what you want.
“With these cars, especially under braking, you bottom out way harder because when the wings close and then the ride height comes down under braking, it’s like actually a very stressful moment.
“I know around here in some places it’s very bumpy under braking, and especially when it’s like these, like kind of awkward bumps, not just bumps from the track getting older, but just going, I don’t know, the surface underneath the soil just moving up and down, sometimes very hard to expect or if you feel like a tiny bit off line.
“You don’t know what is there because no one really drives here sometimes. So yeah, it’s really not really nice. And that’s why I think sometimes people don’t really understand that because, yeah, I can tell you from the checks that I’ve done from my spine, the bottom end doesn’t look that great, the spine. So, I know that’s part of racing.
Verstappen Knows Sports Can Do Damage
“I know that can be part of sport, but it’s, of course, also further damage to the cars that we had the last few years. And now, if we continue with driving or find it acceptable to drive on, then yeah, you are going to suffer that much more.
“I have people who can say, yeah, but there are worse sports out there for damage to parts of your body. For sure, but that’s why I’m not doing them. So yeah, it’s not nice,” summed up Verstappen, as a few other F1 drivers sided with the Dutchman on the matter.
Here’s what a couple of other F1 drivers had to say –
Lando Norris
“Well, I would say yes. I mean, if you build a new track now, the FIA like the rules, the regulations for building a new track, the tolerances you have to be within are pretty small. It certainly doesn’t fit anywhere close to what those regulations are now, let’s say, but it’s an old track, not a new track, so yeah, I mean it’s pretty bad.
“Like, there are a lot of places I need to take headache tablets before I go out simply because it’s so bumpy, and you’re hitting your head pretty hard against the headrests and things because of the bumps, so it’s certainly not a nice thing. But it’s not a lot; it’s not much we can do.
“I mean we complain about it, so it’s certainly brought up many times, but there’s only so much we can complain about things. But he’s right. Certainly right.”
George Russell
“Yeah, it’s bumpy, but I think it’s just part of racing. I’d say my general view is, F1 tracks probably need to be repaved every couple of years just to make it a bit more consistent because we’re going to tracks now where tarmac’s coming up, it’s falling apart, it’s causing more issues than not.
“We’re not an IndyCar or an F2 car that run their ride heights reasonably high; our ride heights are 10 mil at the end of the straight, a centimeter from the ground. So, any tiny bump, you really feel it and the side profile of the tires now, since we’ve been with the 18-inch, is substantially smaller.
“The circumference of the tire is the same. The circumference of the rim is far greater. So, you’ve lost all of that effective suspension in the tire, which was a damper that we kind of don’t have anymore. So, yeah, not ideal, but not much we can do.”