Lewis Hamilton says the resurfaced Circuit de Catalunya has lost its character and has become easier to drive on than at any point in his Formula One career.
F1 testing will resume at the Barcelona circuit this week, a venue which has featured in every season since 1991 as the host of the Spanish Grand Prix. The circuit is also used by Moto GP and complaints from riders of that series about dangerously low grip levels prompted the surface -- which had been unchanged since Hamilton's F1 rookie season in 2007 -- to be re-laid.
Hamilton was frustrated with his initial impressions of the new tarmac after his first laps of 2018 during the opening week of testing.
"I always relate it to a house," Hamilton said. "If you go and buy a brand new house it's got no character, it's new. And if you go and buy and old house, older homes always have got a little bit of history and a little bit more character. It's the same thing with a track.
"When you go to a brand new circuit it's got no history, you don't have the greats that have driven it in the past. But I like a track that's a bit more dated in terms of surface."
The reigning world champion, who is seeking his fifth title in 2018, says a new surface removes some of the challenge for drivers.
"Drivers in the drivers' briefings are constantly complaining about bumps but you have to manoeuvre around the bumps, you can brake a little more offline or you can brake after or slightly before them.
"You have to set the car up to be a little bit better in terms of ride height, but that's where the character of a circuit is. If you flatten it all out you've got corners but it's missing something.
"[With bumps] it's harder, it's trickier. When you are going through a corner the car starts moving a little bit more. You have to be a little more responsive and I like that challenge. When you are smoothing it out you are making it easier. I would say this track is much easier, driving it today was the easiest it's been in all of the 10 years that I've been driving."