Nico Hulkenberg described his Japanese Grand Prix as “principally boring” and believes the brand new monitor floor at Suzuka was accountable.
The Sauber driver began and completed sixteenth. There have been few vital modifications of place through the race: the highest six finishers all took the chequered flag in grid order.
A lot of the primary third of the Suzuka monitor was resurfaced previous to this weekend’s race. The brand new asphalt from turns one to eight (Degner One) coated many of the corners the place vehicles maintain excessive speeds for lengthy durations, incurring probably the most tyre degradation.
Because of this, drivers solely wanted to make a single pit cease to finish the race, in comparison with one final 12 months. Hulkenberg believes that was the distinction that made for a processional race.
“The brand new Tarmac is good and grippy and fast and all that, however the low deg simply makes for very static racing,” he informed the official F1 channel. “The speeds are form of too excessive and the soiled air impact will get worse and worse, clearly.”
He spent a lot of his race caught behind Jack Doohan’s Alpine. “It was tough to do something on the market, so fairly a static race,” he stated. “I spent all my race in visitors, which isn’t that enjoyable round right here. It was a tough afternoon.”
Hulkenberg was not the one driver who skilled an unexciting race. Charles Leclerc known as his race “very boring.” Alexander Albon, who began and completed ninth, stated it was “fairly a boring race, however I like boring races after we are within the factors.”
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George Russell believes softer tyres would have made for a extra fascinating race and stated F1’s official tyre provider Pirelli ought to react for upcoming races.
“It simply appeared like all people completed the place they began,” he stated. “It was very tough to overhaul.
“The tyres are approach too arduous for the brand new easy Tarmac. That was the identical in China with the brand new Tarmac, the tyres had been too arduous and it was a simple one-stop.
“So I hope Pirelli reacts fast. I do know it’s tough to alter tyre compounds however for any upcoming races with the sleek Tarmacs I feel we have to go no less than one step softer to advertise some higher racing and technique.
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