Nico Rosberg criticized the lack of overtaking opportunities on the new Madrid circuit and pointed to Carlos Sainz as someone who should also take responsibility for the problem. For the former driver and 2016 Formula 1 champion, the layout needs to be modified before the next edition of the Spanish GP.
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The debut of Madring was marked by a race with few position battles, leading to criticism about the track design. Rosberg argued that a change should be made to create at least one point effectively favorable to overtaking in 2027.
“Carlos Sainz was the ambassador, and he knew the circuit beforehand, so we need to criticize Carlos Sainz. They need to review the layout for next year and create a good overtaking opportunity. We need that on this track because it is very difficult to overtake,” Rosberg said during the Sky Sports F1 broadcast.
The German used a situation involving Oscar Piastri and Franco Colapinto as an example of the difficulty faced by the drivers. Even with newer tires and being considerably faster, the McLaren driver could not overtake the Alpine Argentine.
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“It was quite shocking. Piastri against Colapinto, for example. Piastri had new tires and couldn’t pass. He was much faster. It’s simply very difficult to overtake,” he added.
Bernie Collins, former Aston Martin strategist and current commentator on Sky F1, also considered that the problem could have been identified before the race took place. According to her, the layout already indicated that overtaking would be complicated, even before the drivers and teams arrived in Madrid.
“We all got here, looked at the track and said, ‘This is going to be very difficult to overtake,’” Collins explained. She highlighted, however, that those responsible for the circuit showed openness to making changes in the future, since Madring is not a permanent track. For Collins, one of the priorities of these changes should be precisely to improve overtaking possibilities.
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