Lando Norris reveals 'easy changes' after 'useless' quip

Lando Norris feels there are "easy changes" that could be made to the Madring after slating it as a race track, deriding one section in particular as "useless".

After finishing third in Sunday's inaugural Spanish Grand Prix at the circuit in the north-east of Spanish capital, Madrid, Norris pulled no punches in his condemnation of a venue that just 24 hours previously had yielded a spectacular qualifying session.

The concern going into the race, however, was the quality of actual racing that would be delivered, and so it proved, as there were apparently just four overtakes throughout after the usual opening-lap skirmishes.

The main target of Norris' ire was a section of the circuit in the final sector.

"There are some obvious changes they should make," said Norris, speaking to the media, including RacingNews365. "They should get rid of 18, 19. Useless! Just have more of a straight into a hairpin.

"I don't know how someone looks at this design [in planning] and goes, 'Mint'."

The 26-year-old, who had claimed pole position on Saturday with a lap described as "a masterpiece" by team principal Andrea Stella, said the circuit still had potential if organisers acted on his suggestions.

"There's a lot of opportunity," he said. "I think they can make it into a track that's good for racing, and I'm excited to come back here next year if they can make these changes because I think it's a track that is good fun to drive. It can be a great racetrack."

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Norris makes Austin comparison

Norris' call for changes was echoed throughout the paddock, including by those on the podium with the Briton in Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, who extended his lead at the top of the drivers' standings to 81 points with his victory, and four-time F1 champion Max Verstappen.

Several other drivers, including Oliver Bearman and George Russell, also identified the combined braking and turning zone around Turn 5 and Turn 6 as a fundamental flaw that made defending too simple and overtaking nearly impossible.

Antonelli and Verstappen reportedly agreed that a complex chicane section like Turns 5-6 carried too great a risk of contact and wall strikes rather than encouraging clean racing.

Making clear that, as it stands now, Madring is "not a great racetrack", he added: "It's great in qualifying, but [let's have a] straight line from 17 straight to 20, have a much wider entry like Austin Turn 1 or Turn 10 in Austin, big hairpin. You'll create much better opportunities for everyone, and you'll be able to enjoy the race."

Norris acknowledged that not every problem area was as straightforward to solve, singling out the Turn 5, 6 and 7 sequence as a tougher puzzle for designers.

Even so, he was adamant that most of the fixes needed at Madring were well within reach for organisers before the circuit returns to the calendar.

"There are some simple changes, and maybe some trickier ones, like Turns 5, 6, 7," he said. "It's hard to know exactly what's the best thing.

"But the fact you have to turn and brake basically defeats the whole object of racing. They can do some simple changes, easy changes, and maybe some more tricky, but I hope they do it."