McLaren driver Lando Norris has called on the FIA to remove sausage curbs, a type of raised curb placed around corners, from circuits following two major crashes in another series.
Sausage curbs are often added to chicanes to prevent drivers from cutting corners, but in the past two weeks have caused crashes that have hit cars in the air.
At one of the Formula 2 support races at the British Grand Prix, Denis Hauger’s out-of-control car was launched into the air over a sausage curb at the corner of Vale and collided with Roy Nissany’s car while wearing a helmet. dangerous. Nissany’s cockpit guard saved him from serious injury, but the accident would have been less dramatic if it hadn’t been for the sausage curb.
At the World Endurance championship race in Monza on Sunday, Henrique Chaves’ Aston Martin GTE was launched into the sky at the Variante Roggia after he lost control of the vehicle under heavy braking. The crash caused Chaves’ car door to open before it flipped over and landed on the roof. Fortunately, there were no other cars near the Aston Martin when it swerved over the curb.
In a column in Daily telegramNorris detailed the Chaves crash and called for a ban on sausage curbs, now used at the majority of F1 circuits.
“The car should never have been airborne in the first place,” said Norris. “Definitely not that violent.” “These things are always more complicated than imagined, but there’s one thing that worries me: the sausage curb.
“I’ve criticized raised curbs in the past, but I think it’s time we act on these warnings and remove them from our sport. Chaves’ crash was the second major crash in two weeks following the incident during a Formula Two race at Silverstone when Dennis Hauger’s car shot up into the air as he veered off the side of the road, crashing into rival Roy Nissany’s safety device.”
Norris says the latest generation of F1 cars, which run low to the ground and feature stiffened suspension to extract maximum performance from underfloor aerodynamics, are even more vulnerable to danger from the sausage curbs.
“With Formula One cars running lower than ever before and stiffer than ever, we need to act because when these cars hit this curb, you can’t drive them. You can be thrown into the air Cars can pop up, make the wheels big and then crash again, which can be very painful in the back.
“Chaves’ crash last weekend was a reminder that we can’t let this drag on. Issues like the hot dog curb are, at least in my eyes, an important topic we all touch. should be resolved sooner rather than later.”
