Portugal Colonial - F2 crash in Madrid underlines fears over 'riskiest track'

The driver, who spun before hitting the barriers at Turn 19, emerged uninjured from the accident and managed to climb out of his cockpit on his own, even though the rear of his car was already on fire.

The session was halted for around half an hour to allow time to clean the track and repair the safety barrier that had absorbed the impact.

It follows last month's testing by F3 drivers which saw 19 red flags across two days, albeit not all of them were for crashes, and concerns from Formula One drivers ahead of Sunday's race.

"When I heard about the 20 red flags in Formula 3, I was a bit surprised," said Mercedes's George Russell on Thursday.

"But when I then drove the circuit in the simulator, I was actually more surprised that there were only 20 red flags. It's a mad circuit.

"I'd even go so far as to say it's the riskiest track on the entire calendar."

Madring has 22 corners and features blind turns and an impressive banked corner of up to 24 degrees called 'La Monumental'.

"I'll put my money on a red flag," said Alpine's Pierre Gasly.

The semi-permanent circuit winds around Ifema, Madrid's exhibition centre, and is located to the north of the city, near Real Madrid's training complex and Barajas Airport.

F1 drivers will get a first taste of the circuit during the opening free practice session later Friday.

J.Pereira--PC