Toro Rosso racer Carlos Sainz thinks the run-off areas at Sochi Autodrom, home of this weekend’s Russian Grand Prix, are too forgiving in places, which makes it enticing for F1 drivers to run wide when they make a mistake.
As a recent addition to the F1 calendar, the Black Sea venue complies with modern safety standards, which often entails large asphalt escape roads in order to minimise hazards. However, Sainz feels this removes part of the challenge.
"When racing in Sochi, at the start of the lap there's a lot of slipstream, so it's possible to arrive to Turn 2 with four cars side by side...," he said. "One thing I don't like, especially here at this second corner, is the wide tarmac run-off areas, where a lot of cars just run wide instead of committing to the corner.
“Turn 3 is a very nice corner which is flat or very close to it – it's such a long corner and you just keep upshifting, reaching quite high lateral g-forces. I remember that Turn 4 is a good overtaking spot. After that there are four consecutive 90 degree corners, which are exactly the same, before arriving to the back straight.”
Travelling to Russia also brings back memories of the heavy accident Sainz sustained in Sochi last year. The Spaniard hit the wall at high speed while approaching Turn 13 in FP3, and ended up with his car buried under the Techpro safety barriers. The Spaniard was rushed to the hospital where medical exams found him uninjured.
Sainz had to miss qualifying out of caution, but the 21-year-old was then given the green light to take the start. A brake failure brought his tough weekend to an early close, with Sainz declaring after the race that he had felt dizzy during the opening laps.
"Turn 13 is another good place for overtaking, but what this part of the circuit brings to mind is my terrible crash from last year – I'd say the biggest of my career so far. The final part of the circuit consists of another four 90 degree corners.
"The walls are also pretty close throughout the lap, which makes it a bit more of a challenge. Last year's race was quite exciting so I hope for another one like that and to be able to continue scoring points!"
Sainz will look to make it three top 10 finishes in four races in Russia, having already claimed P9 in Australia and China. This weekend's grand prix will also see former Manor F1 boss John Booth take up his new position as director of racing at Toro Rosso.
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