FORMULA ONE stars Carlos Sainz and Esteban Ocon have slammed the FIA for ignoring safety concerns on the new Miami circuit after they both suffered painful crashes.
Alpine’s Ocon did not take part in qualifying after slamming into the wall in the final practice session on Saturday.
His crash was almost a carbon copy of that suffered by Ferrari’s Sainz on Friday, as they both fell victim to the tricky turn 14 corner.
It is the first running of the Miami circuit, which has been fairly well-received despite proving to be challenging for the teams.
But Sainz and Ocon led a chorus of F1 talents who felt more reinforcement should be added to help shield those who ended up in the barriers.
Following qualifying, where Sainz stuck his Ferrari second on the grid, he told Sky Sports: “I’m sorry to be critical, but I told the FIA yesterday that my crash at second gear shouldn’t feel that hard.
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“But today, my neck was a bit in pain, and I told them: ‘Let’s put Techpro [barriers] there because it’s a very hard concrete wall.’
“Esteban crashed and I’m pretty sure he felt it too. It’s one of those things I will never understand. I did bring it up already, [but] no change.”
The Spaniard’s words were echoed by Ocon’s, whose untimely crash means he starts last on the grid today.
The Alpine driver said yesterday after his collision: “Carlos said the impact was way too big, and today it felt huge. It’s probably the biggest shunt of my career to be fair.
Almost mirror incidents for Sainz and Ocon!
Keep an eye on Turn 14, it's certainly proving to be a precarious one
#MiamiGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/smymjcJMEJ
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 7, 2022
“We’ve discussed it with Carlos yesterday, with the race directors, to say that we should probably put a Tecpro barrier there and it hasn’t been listened to.
“So yesterday Carlos got hurt, today I got hurt as well. That is not acceptable, and the FIA should push harder for our safety.
“When a professional driver of the calibre of Carlos, driving for Ferrari, says something like this yesterday I think the minimum is that it should be taken into consideration and do the best possible to make a change.”
Other drivers, including Valtteri Bottas of Alfa Romeo, Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, Pierre Gasly from Alpha Tauri and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, echoed their comments.
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Stroll even went as far as to label the FIA’s lack of action as “ridiculous” and “a joke”.
A spokesman for the FIA said officials had inspected the area of impact and decided no changes were necessary from a safety perspective.
Despite the incidents in practice, a crash-free qualifying session saw Charles Leclerc put it on pole to see Ferrari lock out the front row for the first time in almost 3 years.
