Indeed, since the seventies,
Formula 1 or foreign drivers have frequently complained about the standard of track safety in America compared to Europe. Many changes and improvements have been made in recent decades to classic North American road circuits like Elkhart Lake, Laguna Seca, Mid-Ohio, Road Atlanta, Mosport and Mt. Tremblant, but they haven’t been razed or disfigured with chicanes or otherwise entirely redesigned (Laguna Seca excepted) as has happened to so many European tracks.
Wilson isn’t one of those who complains about American track safety standards. In fact, he believes many modern European and international tracks have gone way over the top on expansive run-off areas and an excess of safety. He believes there is supposed to be an element of danger in racing which shouldn’t be completely removed.
“Not that I’m promoting danger, but a lot of the new
F1 circuits are all the same,” Wilson remarked. “You can’t tell them apart on TV. They’re full of constant radius corners into a tightening or opening corner, and so on. They’re shaped so it’s impossible to pass.”
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