'I almost fell asleep' - Scathing Madrid F1 reviews continue from drivers after debut race

Formula 1 drivers have continued to deliver scathing reviews of the Madrid track after a woeful debut event, with one claiming "I almost fell asleep" due to the lack of action.

The Spanish Grand Prix moved to its new home this weekend, leaving behind the oft-criticised Barcelona-Catalunya circuit for a partial street track on the outskirts of Madrid.

From the moment the layout was revealed, it was evident that overtaking would be at a premium around the 5.414km circuit, and these fears only increased when footage emerged from a Ferrari filming day. 

These concerns proved to be wholly justified across the weekend, as drivers struggled to make moves in F3 and F2, before the F1 grand prix. 

Asked how frustrating the lack of action was from the cockpit, Audi driver Gabriel Bortoleto said: "Yeah, I almost fell asleep as well!"

He added: "The race was defined by the virtual safety car in the end, because we couldn't pit with the hard compound, so we had just to accept what happened.

"[The] virtual safety car, I think, makes you 11 seconds more or less, if our numbers [are correct]. After that, there were no more safety cars or virtual safety cars or red flags, so me and Pierre [Gasly] were both waiting for a red flag, maybe, to get lucky on our side and change tyres, but it didn't happen."

While the lack of overtaking opportunities has been heavily criticised, the main frustration has come from the fact that the circuit designers had at least half the track where they could have created absolutely anything. 

Instead of focusing on creating a competitive track, however, the focus appears to have gone on the striking, banked Turn 12, and retaining a 'street track' feel to the whole venue. 

"It would be nice if we had at least one place to overtake, but unfortunately that's not how they designed it," Bortoleto added. 

"So, there are good parts of this track and bad parts, and, you know, for sure the racing side of it is terrible.

"I think it would be nice if new tracks could come to the drivers, and we could give some opinions because we know, in types of tracks like this, that overtaking is going to be very tough. So, maybe in the future."