After last Sunday's US trip, the circus returns to Europe, more precisely to Barcelona. The circuit Catalan 40 km from Barcelona has been the subject of attention in recent hours. The burning issue is news about the future of its layout.
Perfume of approval
The most notable change concerns the infamous variant of the third sector, which precedes the curve that leads to the main straight. Well, the circuit will obtain third sector approval in the near future in the che version does not include the chicane. In fact, it returns to the formula 1 layout prior to 2007, the year in which the variant was introduced for security reasons, as turn 13 was judged too fast for such a limited escape route.
The words of the circuit director
The director of the Montmelò track intervened on the matter. José Luis Santamaría, during an interview, revealed that during the pre-season tests some measurements were made on the speed of the single-seaters when cornering. The goal was to understand whether or not it was possible to change the trait in question.
Saint Mary spoke of the homologation of the new layout and of the way in which it will be possible to make up for the security requirements imposed by the FIA: “we worked to homologate the old track without the chicane as Grade 1. We already have the solution for this change, which is to increase safety with TecPro barriers. Taking advantage of formula 1, we will go to homologate that part of the track and it will be up to the promoters of the races choose whether they will want to use one layout or the other".
Two possibilities for 2023
While the current configuration will be maintained for next week's Grand Prix. In view of next year there will be the possibility to choose whether to do without the chicane that makes enthusiasts turn up their noses so much, or to maintain the current configuration seen in recent years.
SOURCE: SoyMotor.com; F1ingeneral.com
