F1 drivers don't like revised final corner

As part of an overhaul of the track, that has included a complete resurfacing, the Turn 15 hairpin has been raised on the inside, making it off-camber to increase the challenge for drivers.

Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo said: "It's not the most attractive on the calendar.

"It's challenging. I guess that's one positive side of it.

"You take the inside, but then it sort of washes it away with the negative banking and you're on the outside so you do a lot more distance.

"I wouldn't say it's a fun corner, you're really struggling for grip as the track falls away."

The general feeling from other drivers was similar, with Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel suggesting the turn was now "mean", and "more tricky on purpose", while Williams's Valtteri Bottas added that "it's not that nice" and Carlos Sainz Jr said he didn't like it because "it's not natural to have anti-banked corners".

Haas driver Romain Grosjean agreed that the line through the corner was "very tricky to find" adding: "It's not very enjoyable to go through, so I don't really like it.

"I prefer the banking the other way where you can get the grip and go fast in the corner, so they've made it worse."

Lewis Hamilton said the reprofiled corner is "weird", but he doesn't think it will achieve one of the stated aims of increasing overtaking.

"It won't change anymore than it was [an overtaking place] before," he said.

"There's a very wide apex, you're not really driving towards the kerb, you're driving towards the outside line, which is kind of strange.

"Being that it's off-camber, everybody's been looking and the outside line seems to be better.

"[The racing line] is more like a V, you go out [wide]."

While many drivers felt the new asphalt increased grip, McLaren's Jenson Button said the surface offers drivers very little feeling of what the car is doing.

"It's very strange," said Button.

"You get a false sense of hope with the new asphalt - you feel like you have a lot of grip and then suddenly it's taken away from you.

"So it's very strange, very difficult to read. It doesn't feel normal. It feels very like Sochi [the Russian GP circuit]. It's tricky asphalt.

"We're the best guys in the world and we normally feel when we're getting oversteer, but with this it just comes out of nowhere, so it's difficult."