F1 drivers speak on the racing at Spa-Francorchamps this weekend in Belgian GP after the recent death of Dilano van’t Hoff.
The death of van’t Hoff once again raised a debate about the safety aspects of Spa-Francorchamps circuit which will host the F1 Belgian GP this weekend. The incident took place towards the Kemmel Straight after Eau Rouge in rainy conditions.
Rain is predicted for this weekend as well and safety is still a question mark at the moment. The visibility and rainy conditions will again be a difficult situation for the F1 drivers but they have full faith on the FIA to take the correct decision.
Here’s what some of the F1 drivers said –
Charles Leclerc: “Yes, I think there are some changes that could make a difference. First of all, it’s the walls in the straights after Eau Rouge I think could be… we should have a bit more space on the left and right where, if you lose control of the car, I think the way it is done at the moment, you are bouncing on the walls, and you have very high chances of finding yourself in the way again, and I think this is probably a change that we should consider in the future. Then to change the layout of Eau Rouge, by example, I think we find ourselves in the season in those particular conditions being fast in a straight, that’s basically everywhere. And I think that’s going to be difficult to do anything else, other than that. You can always change the layout but I don’t think it’s fair to say that this is what should be done. Then the two biggest problems after that is visibility. Visibility is… it’s really difficult to put into words what we are seeing, apart from saying that we are seeing nothing.
“But we are not exaggerating, when we say we don’t see anything: we really don’t see anything when it’s raining. And this is a really big problem for Formula 1, for motor sport in general, any single-seaters. Now, we have quite a bit of downforce, there’s quite a lot of spray. And then this causes quite a lot of incidents, just because we cannot react to what there is in front. So easy to say that, much more difficult to find a solution for that. But I know that the FIA is on it, and is obviously trying to do the best on that. And then, the last thing is when can we actually… when is it safe to start a race, and this is another topic for the FIA to look closely, especially on a weekend like this, where seems we will have quite a lot of rain throughout the whole weekend, to not feel the pressure of starting a race just because we didn’t have any running. We could be in that situation this weekend. But at the end, obvious to say, but safety comes first. And this needs to be the priority and people, and first of all, us drivers, we shouldn’t complain if we don’t have any laps because it is not safe to do so, with everything that has happened.”
Lewis Hamilton: “It’s not something I ever think of. I think as a driver, it’s not something that you can ever really let into your mind. But I trust in what the FIA are doing. I don’t think we would be here if they didn’t think that we’d be safe. And I believe that… Again, I trust in them, as they’ve done such incredible work over the past couple of decades. I trust in them to make the right decisions moving forwards also.”
Valtteri Bottas: “Similar thinking from my side. I think we rely obviously a lot on the FIA and decisions being made, whether it’s about conditions and stuff but the track has been always the same. Some tracks are more dangerous than the others and especially if there’s bit of weather added. But yeah, obviously visibility is a big one here if it’s raining, but that’s when someone else needs to control the drivers. Can they start the race or not? To make sure that nothing happens.”
Sergio Perez: “It’s just important to consider it, especially with the race conditions. Visibility can be really poor, so we are in the hands of a race director. Nothing we can do now so we will just fully trust him.”
Here’s details on Belgian GP