The issue of low visibility at Spa Francorchamps is back in the spotlight, and this time, drivers are willing to go to considerable lengths to secure their safety. Dilano van ‘t Hoff, a Dutch teenager, died in a terrible accident in Spa-Francorchamps earlier this month while racing in heavy rain at the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine.
The tragedy surprised many in the sporting community because it was the second deadly accident at Spa in four years, following the death of Formula 2 racing driver Anthoine Hubert during a race in 2019.
George Russell, director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association and Mercedes Racing driver, has called for a safety review ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, which will be held in the Sprint Race style for the first time and is expected to be wet throughout. Russell said:
The two questions are whether Spa is safe enough, and what the conditions are. The truth is that motorsports are always risky while driving at these speeds.
“If you had to rank the risk of each circuit, Spa would undoubtedly be one of the riskier circuits, along with Jeddah and Monaco, for example. Suzuka, to a degree.
“Then when you combine the weather, it’s quite difficult. It’s the visibility; we simply have no visibility at all. To put that in perspective, imagine driving down the freeway in the torrential rain and shutting off your windshield wipers.
“That is exactly how it feels in the cockpit. There are no meaningful short-term remedies, and I believe Spa is safe enough. We simply need to find a solution for visibility.”
Many people criticized the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix for lasting only two laps behind a safety car due to inclement weather. The same event prompted the FIA to try ‘rain guards,’ which were recently tested at Silverstone to increase sight by reducing or eliminating spray.
Despite the fact that the test failed, the data acquired provided the regulatory body with a sense of direction for the parts’ development. George Russell agrees with the FIA that safety should be top of the priority list. He said:
“The circumstances are safe and suitable for driving a single Formula One car. But when you have 20 cars on the track at the same time, and everyone from third place backwards can’t see from here to this wall, you’re talking about 20, 30, 40 metres.
“I felt that the incident at FRECA was only a matter of time until something similar occurred. Drivers aren’t going flat out down the straight because they can’t see; suddenly someone is rear-ended, and there’s a car in the center of the track.
“Obviously, having a race cancelled isn’t ideal for anyone. But we don’t want to see another massive tragedy like the one we just witnessed.”
