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Baku - Daniel Ricciardo and other Formula One drivers on Thursday pointed to the dangers of the high-speed pit-entry and its potential for accidents ahead of this weekend's European Grand Prix.
Australian Ricciardo said the chicane and short straight that lead to the pit lane could be the scene of an opportunity to gain or lose up to a second in lap time.
"I think it is going to be quite cool because the pit entry is a part where you can gain a bit of time," said the Red Bull driver.
"This one in particular - if a driver gets it right, and doesn't make a mistake, there is easily half a second, if not one second, on the pit entry, between a good one and a bad one."
He added that if a driver misjudged the challenge, it could be costly. "You either crash or you lose a lot of time!
"It could be cool if you are battling someone in the race and trying an undercut, or an overcut, maybe what you do on the pit entry can dictate who wins that position."
Speaking at a news conference on Thursday, Swede Marcus Ericsson warned of major accidents.
"The entry looks a bit interesting," said the Sauber driver. "You're going to come there very, very fast without any margin. You don't want to see cars crashing going into the pit lane and I think it's going to be a bit of a discussion after Friday.
"You are going to have to brake and turn, and then it's sharp right-left, then you brake again for the speed limit.
"If it's like that it's like that. I don't mind, but it could lead to big accidents going into the pits and I'm not sure that's what we want."
Four-time champion Sebastian Vettel was less concerned. "The pit entry looks a challenge, but then again that is why we are here," said the German Ferrari driver.
