Sainz 'praying for more gravel' at future races

Carlos Sainz has made clear his desire to see more gravel lining Formula 1 circuits in the future.

Across the past decade, F1 has shifted away from gravel traps to substantial areas of tarmac run-offs that fail to punish a driver for any mistake, also leading to the abuse of track limits that has become a talking point across any given weekend.

Spa Francorchamps recently announced it is to revert back to gravel at a number of corners in a bid to entice MotoGP to the venue that hosts the Belgian Grand Prix.

"Welcome back gravel, and we pray for more gravel in the future and grass," said the McLaren driver. "It is exactly what I think we all need to make the circuits nice and spectacular again."

The cost of the refurbishment at Spa caught Sainz by surprise, though, as he added: "I didn't know gravel cost €80million!

"I hope there is something else going on at Spa and they are not wasting €80m on gravel but welcome back gravel. Let's keep praying for more gravel and more grass."

Race director Michael Masi has previously stated the surfaces used for run-offs would be decided on the merits of each individual circumstance.

That position has not shifted as he remarked: “As I’ve said before, corner by corner, circuit by circuit, and if it [gravel or grass] works in a particular circumstance, absolutely.

"If it doesn’t work then we need to look at the whole picture of how it works, with the FIA working together with FIM, from that perspective, and there is a number of inputs.

“So, we’ll continue to look at it on a circuit-by-circuit, corner-by-corner basis to try and make the best judgment.”

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