Max Verstappen crashes in first laps of Madring circuit: 'I have no idea where it's going'

The buildup to this weekend's F1 debut of the Madring has been heavy on scare stories about the new track, with fans building up to expect a demolition derby on Sunday afternoon.

Those fears are almost certainly overblown, but there's been a steady drip-feeding of content playing into the idea that a lot of engineers in Madrid are going to be repairing damage at unprecedented rates.

The latest? Red Bull have released a video of Max Verstappen's 'first lap' at the circuit, in which he's...frankly all over the place, hitting the wall heavily on at least two occasions.

Of course, it's worth mentioning that the footage was filmed long before the summer break, and was the Dutchman's first look at the track, admitting himself that he had no idea of the corner layout.

Also, he was driving it in a video game, steering with a controller rather than a wheel, and filming social content. Prime conditions for sticking it in the wall, and very obviously not representative of the hours of sim laps he's been driving since.

F1 HEADLINES: Verstappen admits McLaren and Mercedes talks as Red Bull sign Raikkonen

Verstappen explains Madring concerns

Verstappen has discussed the circuit more recently after getting more laps in Red Bull's actual simulator, admitting that it's a fairly difficult track to fully get to grips with.

“It’s going to be, I think, very difficult," he said on a recent Twitch stream. "It's not an easy track, actually. If you do a few laps in a row, it's always very hard to cross the line and say okay, I nailed a lap.

"I think also it has a tendency of maybe creating some big shunts in some places. It reminds me a little bit of Jeddah, with fast corners and the walls being very close."

One of his major concerns, though, is that the track layout might not be conducive to overtaking – noting the angled braking zones which mean drivers will be steering and braking at the same time.

"The only thing that's a bit of a shame that I can see already is that a lot of the braking zones are angled," he said, "so you can't go for an overtake because you're braking, but you're steering either right or left, which is the worst thing you can do for creating an overtaking opportunity."

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