Mick Schumacher’s terrifying high-speed qualifying accident showed the Formula 1 community just how dangerous the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia can be.
Schumacher had an accident in turn 11 at well over 200 km/h and did not take part in the race. The crash caused safety discussions, also at McLaren.
Especially the high curbs in this curve came into focus. They are at least partly to blame for the fact that Haas pilot Schumacher had such a serious accident. “Some curbs may need to be changed over the course of the year and I think this curb is one of them,” said Lando Norris after qualifying.
“You can’t have a curb that aggressive with these kind of cars at such a speed that we fly off. What makes it worse is the way it’s angled. If you’re just a little bit wrong, it can come to a great incident such as we have seen.”
After Schumacher’s accident, Norris is hoping for immediate modifications. For today’s race, the position had to be “revised and changed a little”. Because: “Especially in the race, if you’re behind, or if you understeer a little, it can hit you through no fault of your own. The car and the curb can easily put you in a bad position.”
Teammate Daniel Ricciardo also advocates a different curb in turn 11: “It’s going a bit too far when it’s like a wheel falling off. And because the car then kind of skateboards, and the way the wall is .. . We saw with Mick that it was a very heavy impact. Certainly you can be punished in other ways.”
Norris and Ricciardo: Jeddah needs two changes
The organizers in Saudi Arabia put a hand on the track before the race weekend to increase the safety of the Jeddah Corniche Circuit a bit. Among other things, walls were moved or modified.
But that’s not enough. Because in the fateful curve combination in which Schumacher flew, other walls should also be used. Installing SAFER barriers would be one option. Tecpro barriers, on the other hand, would not bring so much if you believe the words of McLaren driver Norris.
“I don’t think you can put a Tecpro on the inside of the wall because then the wall comes back again. The shape of everything there is very strange, so if you put a Tecpro there it could easily get on the track in a crash get there, and that’s the problem,” says Norris.
“I think apart from the curb itself everything is as good as it gets. Except it’s a lot wider there but that kills the point of the track. The track has changed a bit with visibility but the difference is not big. It helps because the corners are a little bit more open and full throttle. You see a little bit more when something’s happening.”