Carlos Sainz Jnr says the Albert Park corner where George Russell and Alexander Albon crashed needs to be revised.
The Ferrari driver revealed he raised concerns in the drivers’ briefing at the Australian Grand Prix following Albon’s crash in practice.The fast chicane of turns six and seven at the Melbourne circuit was reprofiled ahead of the 2022 race as part of a major revamp of the parkland track to improve racing. The right-hander of turn six was made much shallower, allowing drivers to take the turn at far higher speeds.
Albon crashed out of the 2023 race at the corner and hit the barriers at the same turn soon after practice began at the track two weeks ago, breaking his chassis. Russell also suffered a frightening accident on the penultimate lap of the grand prix, leaving him dangerously exposed as his Mercedes came to a rest in the centre of the track.
Sainz says he is concerned by how many incidents at the chicane seem to end up with cars hitting the outside barrier and being bounced back onto the track.
“I just think that corner needs to be reviewed,” he said. “It’s already something I said in the last drivers’ briefing that it’s not the first time that after a collision the car comes back into the track and it’s a corner that we’re doing 250kph and it’s blind.
“I don’t like the last few incidents that we’ve seen in this corner, also in other categories. It just doesn’t give me a very good feeling. It’s a great corner, don’t get me wrong – I love driving it in a qualifying lap. It’s just when it comes to racing, there’s been just too many examples of a car coming back onto the track. Being very narrow there, I just think it’s a corner that needs to be a bit reviewed.”
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Albon also believes that there are ways in which the section could be improved to make it safer for future events.
“I think the exit kerb and the way that it’s angled to the wall, it tends to force drivers back onto the racing line,” Albon explained. “That’s one thing. It’s not a new thing. It happened last year.
“It was brought up but obviously, maybe it’s down to the park or whatever, it wasn’t changed. And there’s also the kerb, there’s kind of a double-stepped kerb on the exit, and especially as we have these low cars now, everything we touch, we can use the first bit of kerb, but if you go too far across and you hit the second kind of ramp section, it forces the car into the air, so there’s two things that could be done better.”
However, Russell, who was left almost on his side on the track after his race-ending crash, says any changes to the run-off should leave the corner as it is.
“The corner’s amazing, probably one of the best corners on that circuit,” Russell said. “So I wouldn’t want to see that corner change.
“But it is true. If you hit that wall, you just bounce back into the track. It’s not just that corner. I think all circuits that have the barriers in certain positions, if it’s going to propel you back onto the circuit, that’s obviously not good. And we don’t want to have big run-offs. We don’t want to have Tarmac run-offs.
“I think everything is correct. Just [change] the position of that wall – even if it’s closer to the track, but in line with the circuit, at least you wouldn’t bounce off into the racing line.”
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Dani B. Molina (@esmiz)
4th April 2024, 14:42
Finally someone talks about what needed to be talked. The runoff of that turn is very poorly designed and was already seen last year.
BasCB (@bascb)
4th April 2024, 14:47
I guess there is no room to make a bit more space ahead of the wall there to give more room to have cars not bounce back into the middle of the track?
Jere (@jerejj)
4th April 2024, 17:26
Looking at the surroundings on Google Maps satellite & street views, the amount of space beyond T6 runoff space is decent for moving the barrier a bit further away from the road edge, more spacious than I thought, with only grass & some trees quite deep beyond.
GT Racer (@gt-racer)
4th April 2024, 15:11
The issue is that the run-off & barrier layout was designed around the corner as it was and that now doesn’t suit the way the corner now is.
It’s not just that the corner is faster now but the trajectory through it is also different so if you go off there your not only hitting the barriers at a higher speed but also a different angle as the apex is now further over to the right.
Altering the run-off may not be possible as they are restricted by what they can do due to it been parkland & public roads so the best thing to do may to just be reconfigure the corner back to the way it was before.
Jere (@jerejj)
4th April 2024, 17:24
I reiterate my point from the other article that altering T6 would be unnecessary & contradictory because that corner is a non-issue in this matter.
Simply moving the exit curb further outwards & thus effectively eliminating T7 would be the best thing to do.
Jere (@jerejj)
4th April 2024, 17:22
Altering T6 would contradict the whole purpose of slightening its radius in the first place, so just move the Techpro barrier as further outwards as possible, given the parkland & public road-induced space limitations & or eliminate T7 altogether by simply removing the unnecessary exit curb or moving it further outwards/towards the barrier, which would even otherwise be better as this would allow for earlier full throttle return, & if desired, have a full tarmac runoff area.
Essentially anything but altering T6, which isn’t even the problematic part to any extent.
For that matter, why not also remove Jeddah’s T11 or rather T10 exit curb as well as make Mexico’s Foro Sol section a single 90-degree left turn among others?
Neil (@neilosjames)
4th April 2024, 17:27
The runoff at that turn is shaped around some fairly large trees. I assume someone involved in the race/planning/safety would have already looked into whether cutting them down (so the outside wall doesn’t pinch in as much near T7) was OK or not, and been told no.
If the corner and its run-off is deemed an issue, I’d rather they reprofile it than try to get the chainsaws out again #TeamTree
Nick T.
4th April 2024, 20:17
God forbid driving mistskes be punished. How would these guys have survived 10 years ago when there was only acres of paved runoff instead of square miles of it?
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
4th April 2024, 21:44
Shortsighted view. Mistakes should be punished in a sporting way, not by leaving you with a damaged chassis in the middle of a blind corner exit…
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
4th April 2024, 21:41
It’s weird that they are allowed to reprofile a corner making it so much faster but without modifying the run off accordingly.
Surely these days they can run hundreds of simulations to see where cars would end up in a spin or accident.
villeneuve
5th April 2024, 10:52
Was it really re-profiled and if so, when?
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
5th April 2024, 13:14
It was changed ahead of the 2022 race.
villeneuve
5th April 2024, 20:19
Thanks very much! I had forgotten all those changes that were also made when they removed the one chicane.
Nick T.
5th April 2024, 12:59
How much safety is enough for you? It’s not exactly high speed. It was a fluke that Russell crashed in such an odd way and then ended up on his side.