Sebastian Vettel hopes more circuits will incorporate banked corners like those added to Zandvoort for the Dutch Grand Prix.
In the winter of 2019/20, the historic venue underwent a renovation to meet the necessary Grade 1 standard all tracks must be to host a Formula 1 race.
As part of that facelift, banking twice as steep as Indianapolis was installed at Turn 3 and Turn 14 to encourage better racing, and Vettel was a big fan of the layout.
“It helps that I’ve been here many years ago and they didn’t change too much of the track, which is good news,” he said when asked about the lost track time due to his MGU-K issue in Practice 1 on Friday.
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“The bits they changed, I think they changed for the better. It is an exciting lap because of the banking, and corners with camber are always good fun to drive. We need more circuits with these types of corners.
“I think it’s very exciting,” he added. “Not quite clear which line to take yet, but I’ll have a little bit of time tomorrow.”
Despite a slightly later start, Vettel was able to finish 10th fastest in the second session at Zandvoort and was confident of further improvements heading into qualifying.
“I think overall it was a decent afternoon,” he said. “We had some catching up to do because of the power unit issue this morning so I had to find the rhythm quickly.
Fireman Seb still on shift ??#DutchGP ?? #F1 pic.twitter.com/TrAvdIYJsN
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 3, 2021
“We couldn’t complete a [flying] lap [due to the red flag] but I think it should be okay tomorrow. We still have some bits that we can improve in the car and also I feel I’m not yet quite there from a driving point of view.
“So we should be able to make a step. Hopefully, the others are not able to do that, and we’ll see where we are.”
Teammate Lance Stroll was also competitive throughout Friday and does see opportunities ahead.
“It was a positive day to start the weekend and I really enjoyed the experience of driving at Zandvoort once again,” said the Canadian.
“Track time was limited in FP1, we finished ninth, and we looked strong in FP2 until we were caught out by the red flag when I was on a quick lap. I felt comfortable in the car and I think we have a good baseline.
“Qualifying is going to be key to success here because overtaking will be so difficult, but there is some tyre degradation, which might make strategy a bit more of a factor.
“We have got plenty of data to look at tonight and we will aim to take another step forward tomorrow.”