The entire Formula 1 world was taken by surprise when it took a closer look at the details of the resurfacing and track renovation work in Shanghai after a four-year absence due to the Covid pandemic.
Before the teams landed in China, reports emerged that the asphalt had been replaced, amid other reports that only certain areas had been repaired to smooth out some of the worst bumps.
“The track appears to have been painted rather than resurfaced,” three-time world champion Max Verstappen said. “I don’t know what that will mean for the clutch.”
Ferrari Charles Leclerc did not know how to describe what he saw other than “something strange.”
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To make matters worse, only certain parts of the model appeared to have been “painted” with a sort of elastic layer of liquid bitumen that covered the usual tiny visible rocks and filled in the uneven areas.
Even Pirelli, Formula 1’s sole tire supplier, was caught by surprise, as was the FIA , which made no mention of the local organizers’ strange decision in its preliminary technical report.
“Maybe in fact everything is fine, so we will find out,” Leclerc added.
An FIA spokesman later told reporters who inquired that the layer applied in places was intended to “preserve the asphalt and ensure the stones remain in place.”
A spokesman for the governing body added that the decision was “expected to increase takeover .”
The Shanghai circuit lost its mandatory Formula 1 Tier 1 license during the Covid hiatus, leading to other repairs being carried out on some barriers and other features.