I must say, I don't really care for the configuration change (chicane). I don't recall a particularly bad incident at the hairpin involving cars careering off the end. The run-off there didn't exactly look tiny either. Frankly, I found most of the other corners FAR more worrying. The front stretch could use a verge, on both sides. Run-off at Turn 1 is good, but I'd want the barrier to be in enough by Turn 2 that you couldn't just straight-line past Turn 2, and nail somebody in 3 and 4. The penultimate corner, and pit-in, have long been problematic, a bit like the old set-up at Laguna Seca, and there appears to be no real change at that point.
I don't know that the entry to that chicane is tight enough to be a very good overtaking zone on its own. In addition though, it's right after the bend in the back stretch. This means there's really no room to straighten out on the outside line, line the guy up, pull out, get alongside, and then outbrake him, as was the car with the run to the hairpin. Taking the inside line through the bend blocks guys getting an inside run, and the bend being right there means that you'll be significantly more compromised on your line to make the corner even trying an inside move approaching the chicane.
Finally, I'm pretty sure that the run out of the chicane to the hairpin will NOT be long enough to make a serious attempt at overtaking into the hairpin itself anymore.
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