Andretti Autosport driver Ryan Hunter-Reay concerned by changes to St Petersburg kerbs

The cars are yet to run on the Florida track, with the first practice session scheduled to start on Friday afternoon, but Hunter-Reay has suggested that the reprofiled kerbs could be too aggressive for the new Dallara DW12s, meaning that some cornering speeds will be lowered.

"In the past here, we've been able to run over [the kerbs]," Hunter-Reay said.

"They were still pretty big, but they were designed in a way that we could hit them, although we'd have to set up the car to get over them. But that would open up the corner, and make it faster through the corner for us.

"But now, we'll have to drive around them. Our concern is that they are going to lower the cornering speeds a bit, and we want these things to look aggressive on TV. We may have to tip-toe around them."

Hunter-Reay explained that the design of the kerbs at the affected corners - Turns 2, 4 and 9 - have been redesigned since last year.

"[Previosuly] they were individual bricks, and we could get over those - it would be rough, but we could get over them, and it looked cool on TV, and it was faster," he added. "But now they have a more aggressive step up and a tabletop. Granted, we still have to go out there and try them. But we have that concern."