Sprint in China, the drivers warn the FIA ​​about manhole covers and disqualifications

We return to Shanghai after five years

When it was disputed the last Chinese GP in 2019 Max Verstappen had just 5 career victories to his credit and Charles Leclerc had yet to win one. Covid has ousted the Shanghai track for many years and in two weeks F1 will return to China to face the first Sprint weekend of 2024.

Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen at the press conference expressed their doubts about the fact that in China there will be only one free practice session on a track where the generation of ground effect cars has never competed. Sergio Perez underlined that it is to be hoped that there will be no problems with the manholes as has already happened in Las Vegas and Bahrain during the 2024 winter tests. The passage of current cars over curbs and manholes generates such a powerful suction that already on a city circuit, but also on a permanent one, the manholes have given way causing serious damage to the affected vehicles.

As reported by the newspaper racefans.netFurthermore, on the occasion of the drivers' meeting the latter also highlighted another fear relating to possible unpleasant surprises due to the Sprint format planned in China, i.e. the risk that we could run into new disqualifications for excessive wear of the bottom as happened to Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc at the end of the United States Grand Prix last season. Even in that case the Sprint format had allowed only one free practice session before the Parc Fermé started and the depressions of the COTA circuit excessively wore the car floor of the Mercedes and Ferrari which were excluded from the finishing order after the checks rite. Compared to the 2023 regulations, however, the Parc Fermé will start before the Qualifying which has been moved to Saturday afternoon, it will be possible to intervene on the cars after the Sprint Shootout and after the Sprint.