Spa-Francorchamps

Toto Wolff DEMANDS track changes for next race

Two high-profile incidents in the last five years has spawned huge conversation over the circuit's future

Joe Ellis

Tuesday 25 July 2023 09:57 Updated: 13:18

Toto Wolff believes Spa-Francorchamps has to change soon after a number of high-profile incidents in recent years.

In the recent Formula Regional event at the Belgian circuit, Dutch racer Dilano van 't Hoff was killed in a crash at the top of Raidillon, not too dissimilar to the crash that killed Anthoine Hubert in Formula 2 in 2019.

There have also been multi-car incidents leading to injuries in endurance racing at the same corner which has little run-off for any mistakes or failures.

Article continues under video

This means cars often bounce back into the oncoming traffic if they hit the wall, leaving the driver in a very vulnerable position.

Wolff: We can't let it be

Dilano van 't Hoff was just 18 years of age when he died at Spa

The Mercedes team principal loves the challenge of Spa and the Eau Rouge-Raidillon section but admits it has to be changed for the safety of the competitors, which is paramount.

"No, we definitely have to think about it," Wolff said to Ralf Schumacher. "I mean, we love the track, and as drivers, we all loved Eau Rouge. That's also part of it.

"But now we can't just let it be. We have to make changes. Two young people losing their lives there, it's necessary to change the track together with Spa."

F1 heads to the Ardennes for the Belgian Grand Prix on 28-30 July for the third sprint weekend of the season, before heading into the summer break.