A FORMULA 2 driver’s car ended up in flames as the merciless Madring track in Spain reared its unforgiving head once again.
And with the F1 race set to take place there this weekend, fans are worried about the safety of some of the sport’s top stars.
Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak slammed into the wall and his car ended up in flames during the F2 Free Practice.
The Thai racing driver appeared to emerge from the crash unscathed.
The incident occurred at turn 19 of the new Madrid layout on a track which many top drivers have already criticised.
And this is also far from the first time an accident has occurred on Madring.
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George Russell said: “When I heard there were 20 red flags in the F3 test [in August], I was surprised,”
“But when I tried out the simulator and saw where the red flags were on the track, I was surprised that there were only 20 red flags.”
“It’s a crazy circuit: the most risky on the whole calendar.”
The circuit has been labelled a ‘car killer’ with many believing it would be a miracle if all 22 drivers managed to finish the race this Sunday.
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Lando Norris had a similar outlook to Russell: “It’s a difficult track. There’s a lot of blind corners, a lot you can’t see around. It’s a bigger challenge inside the cockpit of a car compared to the simulator.
“The main thing you lack on a simulator is the speed and sensation and fear of a street circuit. Grip levels, too. The acceleration of speed, when you approach some corners, is massive in real-life compared to the simulator.
“There’s a lot of braking zones here combined with heavy steering. I’m excited though, always enjoy coming to a new circuit, it’s an opportunity to prepare in the best way possible.”
Max Verstappen has added: “It probably is a car killer from what I’ve seen so far but you just need to try and stay out of the walls and try to get the best possible feeling in the car. When you’re confident in the car on a street circuit, it helps a lot.”
Many of the drivers, including Russell and Verstappen, have noted it has the harshest high-speed corners since Jeddah, the much maligned Saudi Arabian track.
Ferrari‘s Lewis Hamilton echoed those sentiments.
He said: “It’s a massively challenging circuit. Like, of all the new tracks that I’ve gone to, this one and Saudi Arabia are like the two closest in terms of how difficult it was to get on top of the car and find the right lines.”