Oliver Bearman Calls Out Major Flaw in Madrid’s New Spanish Grand Prix Track Design As the Formula 1 circus arrives at the brand-new Madring circuit for the Spanish Grand Prix, rookie driver Oliver Bearman has sounded a stark warning about a critical flaw in the layout.
The 22-turn, 3.3-mile track, winding through the IFEMA entertainment complex near Real Madrid’s training ground, is set to be the 79th venue to host a world championship grand prix.
However, Bearman, racing for Haas, believes the design includes a significant “oversight” that could stifle overtaking and impact race excitement.
The braking zone into this left-right-left chicane is curved, Bearman explains, severely limiting overtaking opportunities by preventing drivers from taking alternative lines or launching attacks up the inside.
One of them is the braking for Turn 5, which is curved, and that’s the real overtaking opportunity, and that curved braking takes away any possibility of different lines and sending one up the inside.