“It is one of the more risky tracks,” Valtteri Bottas joins the list of drivers critical of the Jeddah circuit
Valtteri Bottas at Alfa Romeo in 2022
The grid for the second race of the 2022 season is set on the second-fastest circuit of the 2021 calendar and the fastest street circuit- the Jeddah street circuit. However, with the pace of the track comes harsh criticism from many drivers marking the track as “unsafe,” and now the Alfa Romeo driver, Valtteri Bottas has joined the list.
The circuit, last year upon its addition, received criticism for its blind corners and extremely high speeds as a street circuit. And this has only increased after Mick Schumacher’s accident during the qualifying on Saturday.
Valtteri Bottas shared his thoughts on the track and the incident. He said, as quoted by GP Fans, “It is one of the more risky tracks and riskier to have a big shunt, but also that is how street circuits are. It is never nice to see a shunt like that. When you hit a concrete wall with that speed, it hurts.”
He added, “Normally if you move the concrete walls a bit further away, it helps, but then you obviously lose the nature of the street-track feeling. But that kerb in that place, maybe you can reconsider that because once you bottom out on that kerb, you lose control quite easily.”
“So maybe in that area specifically, maybe that could be the fix. But through sector one, still, the blind spots and visibility are quite poor so that is still a bit of a concern,” he concluded.
What other drivers have said before Valtteri Bottas?
Many other drivers before Valtteri Bottas have shared their criticism and concern over the track. The list includes Max Verstappen, Sergio Perez, Carlos Sainz, and Lando Norris.
Max Verstappen had earlier said, “ I don’t understand why you need to design the track [like this]. If it’s going to be flat out just design it dead straight. I don’t really understand why the track is the way it is. It’s just safer for everyone.”
Ferrari driver, Carlos Sainz, said, “Here if you crash, it hurts a bit more than in other places in the calendar because the walls are closer and the speed is higher. Is it really worth it having that huge accident when you could maybe hopefully push the walls a bit further out and it would give us a bit more space to slow down the car if we lose it?“It’s a discussion that we need to have because it’s probably a bit on the limit.”
The Saudi Arabian GP is set to take place on Sunday with Sergio Perez as the pole sitter and Charles Leclerc alongside him on the front row. Last year’s race winner Lewis Hamilton is on P16, after a disappointing qualifying.
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