Formula 1 drivers complained of a severe lack of grip off-line after their first day of running at the Miami International Autodrome.
Daniel Ricciardo said he suspected the problem was caused by small stones being thrown up by the cars as the new track surface wore away.
“It seems like just the stones are getting loose and kind of get washed just off the line. So if you miss a little bit the apex, then you’re sliding off and it’s difficult.”
F1’s tyre supplier Pirelli backed up Ricciardo’s explanation, saying this was why two patches of the circuit were repaired before Friday’s running began.
“With this new asphalt they are taking off some small stones from the asphalt,” its head of motor sport Mario Isola explained. “That is something that happened also yesterday after the Safety Car was running and the hot laps.
Gallery: Miami Grand Prix practice in pictures“So they put some patches of new asphalt. But still some stones are coming off because we found the stones on the tyres.”
Isola said it is hard to predict whether the situation will improve as the surface continues to wear during today’s sessions. F1 is sharing the track with W Series and Porsches this weekend.
“I’m not sure what is going to happen in the next couple of days,” said Isola on Friday evening in Miami. “Probably it will stay more or less as it is but there is the risk that if they remove some stones, these stones are obviously flying, and when you run on this line then you lose a bit of grip.
“We saw a lot of mistakes today but it’s normal in a new circuit. They have to set up the car and probably they had some snap oversteer that is difficult to control.”
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He doesn’t expect the problem to go away as the track becomes more worn. “It loses the stones from the top but you have other stones,” he said. “So it’s a matter of the aggregate they have used.
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