George Russell believes Formula 1 circuits should be resurfaced every couple of years after Max Verstappen made critical comments about the bumps at the Circuit of the Americas and how they could leave him needing “a new spine”.
COTA has for a long time been known as one of the bumpier circuits on the Formula 1 calendar. But the Dutchman was alarmed when he saw what the cars and drivers went through during the World Endurance Championship race at the circuit.
“But it’s again a very different track," he said. "From what I saw in WEC, the track is incredibly bumpy. Oh my God, I probably need to order a new spine after the weekend, or become like Robocop. Crazy.”
Asked about the issue during his media session on Thursday in Austin, the Mercedes driver agreed the track is bumpy, but said the problem isn't just limited to COTA. Ageing asphalt has affected several circuits across the 24-race calendar.
“Yeah, it’s bumpy, but I think it’s just part of racing," he said. "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 Indy car or an F2 car that run their ride heights reasonably high, our ride height’s 10mm at the end of the straight, a centimetre from the ground, so any tiny bump you really feel it.”
George Russell, Mercedes
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images
At the Monaco Grand Prix, Lance Stroll and Charles Leclerc both crashed at Turn 19, and the race was red-flagged while the FIA inspected the track surface. Both drivers blamed problems with their cars, but many linked the incidents to the damaged asphalt.
“The side profile of the tyres now since we’ve been at the 18-inch is substantially smaller," Russell continued. "The circumference of the tyre is the same, the circumference of the rim is far greater, so you’ve lost all of that effective suspension in the tyre, which was a damper, which we kind of don’t have anymore. So, again, not ideal, but not much we can do.”
Russell arrives in Austin second in the drivers’ championship, 102 points behind Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli, who can theoretically win the drivers' championship this Sunday. Both Mercedes drivers will run the team’s latest upgrade package this weekend, with Russell saying the new parts need “a bigger set-up adjustment than we first anticipated”.
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