Palmer explains why he hates 'new generation' circuits

The Russian Grand Prix started spectacular with two crashes in the first round, but after that it soon became a lot less boring. No coincidence according to Jolyon Palmer, who believes that this is because of the circuit.

The new circuits

The circuit in Sochi was completed at the end of 2014 after the Olympic Games in Russia. Sochi was then the site for the Olympic Park and the Sochi Autodrom was made around it. The circuit has some unique corners, but you can't really call it challenging. Palmer calls this the reason for the boring races.

''Around the Olympic Park and the location on the Black Sea this should create a great atmosphere, but the opposite is true. The circuit lacks character and is almost completely flat. As a result, every corner is almost the same and you have continuous 90 degree turns. The only exception are curves 13-16, but those too are 90 degrees'', says Palmer in his column for the BBC.

Always boring races

''It is certainly not a favourite circuit of any driver. After the race at Mugello, which gave an old-school feeling and had a lot of character, you could say that the new way of building circuits in Sochi would be in great contrast''. Palmer is of the opinion that this is also reflected in the races.

''There have been seven Russian Grands Prix and we are still waiting for the first really fun race. Overtaking is difficult here and the cars are often far apart, despite the fact that there is a big chance for the Safety Car. This year's race is perhaps an exception, because with the Mercedes drivers on different tyres this might have been a fun race without Lewis Hamilton's penalty'', concludes the former F1 driver.