Overview
- Max Verstappen disclosed Friday that medical scans show his lower spine “does not look very good” after he experienced vertical impacts above 9G at COTA.
- Lando Norris said the bumps cause strong head impacts and that he sometimes takes painkillers before driving to cope with the discomfort.
- George Russell and other drivers urged more frequent full resurfacings of F1 tracks, with Russell saying circuits probably need resurfacing about every two years.
- Engineers and drivers say the problem returns because COTA sits on clay subsoil that moves under the asphalt, making short surface patches ineffective.
- A permanent fix would require lifting and rebuilding sections of the track, a costly and time‑consuming project that has not yet been agreed while the race weekend continues.