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Baku Turn 8 kerb changed after crashes in Formula 1 practice

The FIA has removed the plastic kerb at Baku's tight Turn 8, and replaced it with a shorter version ahead of day two of Formula 1's Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The change, which was made on Saturday morning prior to the Formula 2 feature race, followed a discussion with race director Charlie Whiting in Friday evening's drivers' briefing.

Both Sergio Perez and Jolyon Palmer crashed heavily at Turn 8 in practice, and Perez was one of those who pushed for a less harsh solution.

"The kerb is quite difficult, and it's not so easy to ride that for us," he said.

"It's quite narrow and we asked Charlie to try to have a look to see if we can change it because we all feel that it's quite narrow and very easy to make a mistake."

Whiting formally confirmed the change in a note to teams today, saying: "The kerb on the apex of turn 8 has been shortened and the track edge re-aligned."

He added: "One additional row of TecPro barriers have been inserted on the first part or the barrier on the exit of turn 8 (not the last part)."

Zdroj: autosport.com