07/04/2022
NEWS STORY
Following crashes during Supercars qualifying at Albert Park, further revisions have been made to the circuit.
Though Formula One activity doesn't get underway until tomorrow, there are a number of events today (Thursday) including Porsche Carrera Cup and back-to-back qualifying sessions for Supercars.
Both qualifying sessions witnessed crashes at Turn 5, where, since F1 last raced here in 2019, the left-hand side wall at the exit has been realigned closer to the edge of the track.
However, both crashes, one involving Broc Feeney and the other Jake Kostecki, were the result of cars clipping the Tecpro barrier and bouncing back to the centre of the track.
Kostecki’s crash during the first qualifying session (for Race 6) necessitated a lengthy red flag stoppage as the barrier was repaired.
The FIA subsequently confirmed to Speedcafe.com that the Tecpro section at that corner has been shortened by 20 metres following the incidents.
Asked about the location of the barriers, Mick Schumacher told Speedcafe: "I haven’t I haven’t seen them so I guess I’ll have to have a look.
“I’m sure that F1 and the promoters are on it and try to make everything as safe as possible and put the placing of the Tecpro barriers the right way.”
While the changes to the circuit have been widely praised, Kevin Magnussen believes organisers may have gone too far.
"Maybe some of it was over the top," said the Dane, "like, removing Turn 9 and 10. I don’t think they needed to do that, but they’ve made a big effort to make the show better, and I think that’s a great thing.”
"The bend before Turn 9, it's going to be pretty full on, I think, with DRS on," he added. "I think the cars are going to be quite loose there. We'll see.
"I think there's different opinions of what's good racing," he continued. "Too easy overtaking can be bad as well, it just kind of puts everyone in the right position in terms of pace.
"So it's kind of like a balance. Some tracks have just the right balance to still have some racing, still have some action, but also have some opportunity to defend.
"If you can't defend, if you just get overtaken if you're even a little bit slower, then that's also not a good thing. So it's about balance, I think. So we'll see how it is on this track in the race."
Check out our Thursday gallery from Melbourne, here.