"These drivers moan so much about so many things" says Lewis
Tuesday 27 December 2016 08:45, UK
Lewis Hamilton has accused some of his fellow F1 drivers of moaning too much and taking the character out of the sport’s tracks following criticism of the new Baku circuit.
After setting the pace in Friday practice, an unimpressed Hamilton said: "One thing for sure is that these drivers moan so much about so many things."
Jenson Button, the sport's most experienced driver, had voiced his concerns about the scant run-off areas prior to the circuit's debut, saying: "We have worked so hard on safety, improving circuits all the time, and then we come here and corners like turn three, turn seven, turn 14 don't have any run-off at all.
Nico Rosberg, Hamilton's Mercedes team-mate and the current world championship leader, also described the lack of run-off areas as "a little bit of a concern".
But Hamilton, who was over half a second faster than Rosberg in Practice Two to head an ominous Mercedes one-two, argued that the circuit's blemishes should have been welcomed by his peers.
"It is really bumpy down the main straight and you can't see turn one really well, but that is part of racing," he said. "These guys wants it to be smoother than ever with no vibrations and no bumps and take all the character out of these tracks.
"I'm glad this has bumps but l guarantee there will be people saying those things."
Speaking after the end of Friday's running, Button added: "I spoke with Charlie [Whiting, the FIA race director] this morning and he assured me that all the right checks were done. But driving the circuit isn't going to change how you feel."
Described as being akin to a 'high-speed Monaco' by Force India's Sergio Perez, the circuit proved challenging and contrasting in equal measure during Friday practice with the field striving to find a suitable set-up for a layout that contains several ultra-slow, single-file sections and also the longest straight in F1.
"The track feels as tight as it looks," Ricciardo told Sky Sports F1. "It's cool to have some of these high-speed corners that are on the edge and of course you then have a long straight so you get a bit of a chance to breathe but pretty much all the corners keep you busy and keep you occupied.
"There are no real easy corners on the track which is good in terms of the challenge, definitely."
Sebastian Vettel was one of the many drivers to visit the circuit's escape roads - and was also the first driver to spin during Practice One.
"It's very difficult," the Ferrari driver admitted. "All the time you have quite a long straight leading into hard braking.
"There's not much to help your orientation - the trees look the same! After a while you find your rhythm. It seems a nice track, but challenging, especially the high-speed section."
Those sentiments were echoed by an approving Nico Hulkenberg on an encouraging day for the Force India team in which the German was fifth fastest and team-mate Perez third.
"It's definitely a very challenging track. It's high speed, has a lot of ballsy corners and is very tight considering the speeds we are going at," Hulkenberg said.
Drivers rarely run off a circuit as often as was the case on Friday, but Friday pacesetter Hamilton said: "Everybody has learnt the circuit now so l think you won't see as much as that again.
"It's Monaco-esque in terms of braking and how close the barriers are but you're arriving at much higher speeds."
"The track itself is quite good to drive, it's just that with the run-off areas we need to be careful with them," added Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
