F1 drivers unhappy with FIA after Miami concrete wall safety concerns ignored

Several F1 drivers have expressed concerns over the unprotected concrete wall at Turn 13 after Carlos Sainz and Esteban Ocon both suffered heavy crashes at the corner. 
Esteban Ocon (FRA)
Esteban Ocon (FRA)

Two hefty crashes in two days at the same part of the Miami International Autodrome circuit during the Florida city’s inaugural grand prix ha🐻ve prompted safety concerns from F1 drivers. 

Sainz lost control of his Ferrari and spun into the concrete wall on the ou💛tside of Turn 13 in Friday’s second practice session, before Ocon suffered a near-identical crash less than 24 hours later. 

The Frenchman was left with knee pain but has been declared fit to race following a precautionary trip to the medical centre. The impact registered 51G and cracked the chassis of Ocon’s Alpine car, causing him miss qualifying.♈ 

Ocon revealed that drivers’ complaints to new F1 race director Niels Wittich over the lack of absorbent Tecpro safety barriers during their usual Friday briefing after practice f𝕴ell on deaf ears. 

“What’s unacceptable really is that it൩ was 51g for what should have 🌸been not such a big impact,” Ocon said.

“Carlos has complained to the race director, we were all there listenin♚g to it and nothing has been done.

“Carlos said the impact was✃ way to🐭o big and today it felt huge. It’s probably the biggest shunt of my career, to be fair. So yesterday Carlos got hurt, today I got hurt as well.

“The FIA should push harder for our safety, but it’s important tha✃t we will be able to race and I will be able to race as well. 

“When a professional driver of the calibre of Carlos, driving for Ferrari, says something like this, I think the minimum is that it shoul๊d be taken into consideration and do the best possible to make a change.”

Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP) Ferrari F1-75. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 5, Miami Grand Prix, Miami, Florida, USA, Practice
Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP) Ferrari F1-75. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 5, Miami Grand Prix,…

After qualifying second on the grid in Miami, Sa🌊inz confirmed he had raised his concerns to the FIA on Friday evening and was left unimpressed by their response.

“I’m sor𓄧ry to be critical, but I told the FIA yesterday that my crash at second gear shouldn’t feel that hard,” he told Sky. 

“Today, my neck was a bit in pain and I told them l♕et’s put Tecpro there because it’s a very hard concrete wall.

“Esteban🌳 crashed and I’m pretty sure he felt it too and it’s one of those things I will never understand.”

Ocon’s teammate Fernando Alonso was among the drivers who bel✃ieve more could be done to better protect drivers at Turn 13.&nbs✤p;

“We are in the car and we know how it feels when you hit the wall,” 🌞the Spaniard said. “And Carlos was very clear yesterday that it was not right to have just the wall there, not other protection.

“So today we had another accident, same place, same angle, another driver was hurt. So tomorrow we have the second🌼 chance to put something there.”

Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll called it “ridiculous”🧸 that the corner does not featurꦜe Tecpro barriers. 

Lance Stroll (CDN) Aston Martin F1 Team AMR22. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 5, Miami Grand Prix, Miami, Florida, USA,
Lance Stroll (CDN) Aston Martin F1 Team AMR22. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 5, Miami Grand…

“They should just put it,” Stroll stressed. “I don🦩’t know what the big fuss about it is, no one wants to hಌit a concrete wall.”

Sergio Perez and Pierre Gasly also expressed concern over the incidents, though the Red Bull driver doubted changes coul🍎d have be♍en made in time due to schedule constraints. 

“I don’t think it was possible for them to do any action, in fairne🉐ss to the FIA,” Perez admitted. 

“But we ce💦rtainly discussed it and we were surprised with the amount of 🌌g that Carlos had.

“We don’t want to see that ag🙈ain. We want extra precautions in the future and to avoid those kind of heavy accidents.”

However, Lewis Hami♉lton - who is in a sta🌜nd-off with the FIA regarding a spat over safety concerns relating to a ban on wearing jewellery in the car - has no concerns about the new street circuit. 

“When we come to these n𓆏ew tracks, they do the best job,” he said. “I think they've done a great job in all of these new tracks with safety. 

“You can't predict every single c𒁏orner, where we're going to need Tecpro, but safety on track is great.&nbs𒆙p;

“So I think we of course after an experience like this weekend, we🌟 can know that that’s an area that we can improve on. But that's a part of the lessons we𒆙 learned.”

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