Perez: “Totally unacceptable” COTA bumps will lead to crashes

Racing Point Formula 1 driver Sergio Perez has labelled the bumps at COTA as “totally unacceptable” and fears they will lead to crashes during the United States Grand Prix. 

Track bumps proved a major talking point throughout Friday’s two practice sessions in Austin, with a number of drivers being caught out at different parts of the circuit. 

Lewis Hamilton called COTA the “bumpiest track in the world” as he highlighted his concerns over the safety of the circuit via team radio during the sessions. 

Haas driver Romain Grosjean crashed out at the high-speed Turns 5 and 6, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc suffered a throttle pedal issue that was caused by the extreme undulations on the track surface. 

“You’ve seen some drivers going off in very high speed and it’s due to the bumps so I think that’s totally unacceptable,” Perez said after the end of FP2. 

“It is quite a big concern and I think we’re going to see some people struggling with it where if you get it wrong you’re basically going to go straight into the wall at very high speed. 

"If you try do an overtake you can hit very hard with the car so I think it’s going to be a topic this weekend.

“We have seen some incidents due to the bumps and I think that’s just not acceptable.

“In the race, I don’t know, but I expect to see some people crashing out when the deg starts to kick in and all of a sudden you get a bump at the wrong angle and you just go straight into the wall.” 

Asked if it was the worst he has experienced in F1, Perez replied: “Yeah the worst. The worst. Every year it tends to get worse and worse but today it’s over the limit I think."