Belgian GP at risk of being CANCELLED as F1 stars raise safety concerns after teenage racer died at Spa this month
FORMULA ONE drivers have raised safety concerns about this week’s Belgian Grand Prix at Spa – with rain expected all weekend at the treacherous track.
Dutch driver Dilano van ‘t Hoff died here earlier this month as a result of a crash in the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine [FRECA] series.
The 18-year-old was the 49th racing driver to perish at this circuit and it came after F2 driver Anthoine Hubert died in a similar accident in 2019.
F1 were forced to scrap the Belgium GP here in 2021 due to poor conditions and with more bad weather expected, George Russell says it is important the FIA make the right safety call.
He said: “The FIA have to be bold with their decisions when it comes to safety, especially visibility. We know what the situation was two years ago, we don’t want it to be strung out as perhaps it was then.
“Everybody wants to race but when you’re going down that straight at 200 mph and you can’t see 50 metres in front of you, there will be huge incidents. They’ve got a big responsibility this weekend.
“For one single F1 car to drive around, the conditions are safe enough and suitable enough to drive.
“But it’s when you’ve got 20 cars on track at once. Anybody from third position backwards literally cannot see.
“I felt like the incident that happened in FRECA, it was only really a matter of time before something like that happened.
“Drivers aren’t going flat out in the straight because they can’t see. Somebody gets rear-ended and then there’s a car in the middle of the track.
BETTING SPECIAL – BEST SPORTS BETTING APPS IN THE UK
“Obviously to have a race cancelled is not perfect for anybody. But we don’t want to see a huge incident like we’ve just seen.”
Russell heads up the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association and is in dialogue with the FIA about the circuit‘s safety.
He added: “It is about constant communication with the FIA following the tragic passing of Dilano. The two questions are is Spa safe enough and then it’s the question of the conditions.
“If you were to put a ranking of risk of all of the circuits, for sure Spa is one of the riskier circuits, along with Jeddah, along with Monaco, for example.
“When you’ve got a combination of the weather, it’s very challenging. It’s the visibility, we just have no visibility whatsoever.
“The way I describe it to try and give some perspective is driving down the motorway in pouring rain and turning your windscreen wipers off.
“The fact is we are probably not going to find the solution for better visibility for years to come. It’s challenging, it’s really not easy.
“And I fear a little bit for the junior categories now, I truly think F3 should not be allowed 30 cars on track at one time at any point, even in dry conditions.
“I think it’s a matter of time before we have a big accident there too.”
Russell’s Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton however, says he is not troubled by the circuit’s lethal past.
He added: “It’s not something I ever think of. I think as a driver, it’s not something you can ever let really enter your mind.
“But trust in what the FIA are doing. I don’t think we would be here if they did not think we would be safe.”
Meanwhile, Ferrari‘s Charles Leclerc said he would like to see changes made to the track to improve safety.
He said: “There are some changes that could make a difference. First of all, the walls on the straight after Eau Rouge, we should have a bit more space on the left and right.
“If you lose control of the car, the way it is done at the moment you are bouncing on the walls and you have a very high chance of finding yourself in the way.
“This is probably a change we should consider in the future.”
Complete F1 2023 race calendar – details on every Grand Prix this year