George Russell has warned that the new Formula One circuit hosting this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix is "mental," hours after Max Verstappen described the track as a "car-killer."
The race marks Madrid's first Formula One event in 45 years. The circuit is lined with concrete walls, and Russell says he and his rivals are taking it on at far higher speeds than they reach on the similarly tight streets of Monaco.
A day before he spoke, Russell had already called the new track the "most risky" on the calendar.
Concern over the layout grew during practice for F1's feeder series. Thai driver Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak's car caught fire after he hit the barriers at Turn 19 in an F2 session, an incident nicknamed the "orange ball" in the paddock as it flashed up on trackside screens. The 20-year-old got out of the car straight away, the red flag was shown, marshals arrived and the fire was put out. He was unhurt.
A few hours later, 19-year-old Briton Arvid Lindblad crashed his Racing Bulls car at Turn 13 during practice for Sunday's Formula One race. He was also uninjured, but the incident added to the sense of unease around the new venue, though Russell suggested it may in truth be less dangerous than Jeddah, the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix circuit.
Russell's warning on the Madrid corners
"This circuit is mental, and this corner... it is a fast right hander," Russell said, watching a replay on a nearby screen. "There are a lot of really fast corners. The barriers come back on to the track. So, if you are going to go wide, you're not hitting it at the same angle as the car is going."
"The car is going towards the wall but the wall is coming in at you," he added. "Another element of the challenge here, which probably won't cause major crashes, there'll be a lot of lock-ups. You have got three corners where you're turning and braking, and if you lock up, the wall is right in front of you."
Watching the TV replay again, Russell compared the layout to a notorious stretch of the Baku circuit, home of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. "Very reminiscent of the, oh my God, the 15th corner in Baku," he said. "We've got three corners that are very similar to that Baku corner."
"When I heard about the 20 red flags in F3, it was surprising," he said. "This circuit has less margin than Monaco. Purely because of the speed. In Monaco, the walls are closer, but because you're going far slower, if you make a mistake, you're not into the wall as quickly. And you can recover it sometimes, a small lock-up you can get over. Here, I think there's less room for error."
Where Russell stands in the championship
Russell arrived in Madrid 66 points behind his Mercedes team-mate and championship leader, Kimi Antonelli. He was fifth fastest in the practice session that Antonelli topped, a result Russell called "an ominous sign" for himself.
Is the new track too dangerous?
Asked whether the circuit was too dangerous, Russell said: "Not at the moment, but the view on that question will definitely be interesting after this weekend."
On the fire that engulfed Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak's car, Russell played down any personal anxiety. "I don't think too much to be honest," he said. "I'm sure my mother worries more than I do on seeing any crash. But I'm content with whatever happens. This is part of the risk. You can hurt yourself doing anything."
He said his worst injury came away from the track altogether. "My biggest incident where I probably hurt myself the most was on a vehicle when I was playing with my three-year-old nephew," he said. "He was on a quad and I was on an electric bike racing him through the garden. I was next to him, and he looked at me, and, as he looked, he turned, and he wiped me out, and he's gone barrel-rolling on the quad. I've gone barrel-rolling on the electric bike. That was the one when I hurt myself the most."
