Räikkönen and Epstein find the criticism irritating: 'That's absolutely fine'

This weekend it is finally time for the United States Grand Prix, but for a while there were doubts that this race would not take place. There were some concerns in the Formula 1 paddock about the state of the circuit in Austin after the MotoGP riders were very unhappy about it earlier this month. The circuit boss Bobby Epstein claims that the drivers don't have to worry as the track is fine for a Formula 1 car.

The MotoGP riders were not happy with the poor condition of the track. As a result, the track's condition became a hotly debated issue in the Formula 1 paddock, but Epstein thinks it's nonsense.

"So, the bumps aren't an issue for the cars first [of all]. And [F1 race director] Michael Masi has been out and sent people and they've checked it and they asked us to grind two or three areas of concern. And that work was done already Monday and Tuesday this week. So, it's still a problem for bikes – there's two sort of dip areas – but cars have no problem," the boss says at Motorsport.com.

Räikkönen agrees with Epstein

Despite the fact that there is a lot of talk about the bumpy track, Kimi Räikkönen also seems to think it is rather nonsense that there is so much talk about it. After all, it's not like all other tracks don't have bumps.

"It should be ok. I mean if the MotoGP guys could manage to do a race, we should be absolutely fine. I'm sure it's a lot more scarier with the two wheels to go with the bumps, than with our cars, especially with the downforce. Yeah, we might feel it, but should be ok," said the Finn.