Spa must CHANGE and ignore 'tone deaf' F1 commentators to prevent further tragedy

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Spa must CHANGE and ignore 'tone deaf' F1 commentators to prevent further tragedy

Spa needs to change, no matter how iconic its corners are

Jim Kimberley

Wednesday 5 July 2023 19:57

On Saturday, the motor racing community showed its camaraderie in the face of trying times when statements from MP Motorsport and the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine confirmed the news of Dilano van 't Hoff's death.

Outpourings of support came from across the racing world, particularly from those who knew this young racer most closely, to show the collective kindness the industry has in its most trying circumstances.

I was stunned by the death, more so than other fatalities, because my first visit to the FRECA paddock with Van 't Hoff came at the championship's previous round in Spain.

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That's not to say I knew him or could speak to his personality, but he and the other three-dozen racers in the series weren't just names on a screen or pictures on the YouTube live stream.

These drivers are teenagers with their lives ahead of them, who get to enjoy racing fast cars around the same circuits as their Formula 1 heroes and having as much fun with their peers as you'd expect.

Imagine your later school years and going on trips every few weekends to watch racing with classmates who enjoy motorsport just as much as you. Think of the antics you'd get up to together while still being sensible enough that the teachers wouldn't tell you off.

That's the life Van 't Hoff lived. Except the classmates were fellow drivers, he was racing rather than watching, and there were no teachers, just a loving family surrounding him and cheering his every move on track.

Dilano van 't Hoff tragically lost his life racing at Spa on Saturday

With the memory of three days in the Barcelona paddock still at the forefront of my mind, my shock soon turned to anger that this tragedy had happened in the few hundred metres of track as Anthoine Hubert's fatal incident just four years earlier.

Spa's iconic status cannot prevent change

Spa-Franchorchamps is one of the legendary circuits in any racing category, and you can lower your pitchforks now because I'm not here to advocate chicanes in Eau Rouge or to stop racing as soon as there's a raindrop in the air.

However, how many deaths, broken bones, and near-fatal accidents must there be to say enough is enough and end the unnecessary loss of life at this iconic venue?

The Van 't Hoff family will carry the weight of their teenage son's death for the rest of their lives, and who knows the psychological damage or survivor's guilt it might cause to the hundreds of young competitors who raced against Dilano in their careers.

Yet I still saw numerous dismissive messages quoting that 'motorsport is dangerous' and pointing fingers at the age of those racing at Spa and that they shouldn't compete in the wet conditions that the accident happened in.

These insensitive knee-jerk comments felt like an unconscious wagon-circling event to protect the precious Belgian circuit, particularly the Eau Rouge-Raidillon sequence, from anyone who dare suggest human life is more important.

Tone deaf comments

Even Damon Hill shared tone-deaf comments saying it would be a 'sad day' if Spa had to change in the wake of its latest young fatality.

Social media comments that I read also suggested the crash happened further down the Kemmel Straight, so it's not the fault of the famous right-left corner configuration.

The people with these thoughts clearly did not see these 33 junior drivers handle a very wet Spa-Franchorchamps for the preceding 30 minutes, with leaders Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Tim Tramnitz having a thrilling duel for the win that wouldn't be out of place in 2021's Max Verstappen vs Lewis Hamilton battles.

They don't explain why a not-as-young age didn't prevent McLaren's Lando Norris in F1, Williams' reserve Jack Aitken in GT World Challenge, Haas' test driver Pietro Fittipaldi in WEC, and five drivers in W Series from crashing there and being lucky enough to avoid death.

Nor do they address why it's always the same part of track — call it Eau Rouge, Raidillon, or the start of the Kemmel Straight — where the horror smashes happen, and not La Source, or Pouhon, or Stavelot, or Blanchimont, or the Bus Stop chicane, or Le Combes, or any other part of the 7km course.

Something has to change, and that doesn't mean altering the circuit's layout, but it does mean stopping cars from bouncing back on track after an accident.

It's one of the most challenging corners to get right in the racing world, even more so in the frequent wet conditions we so often see, so there'll always be mistakes.

Mitigating the aftermath of those mistakes should be the priority, and the tyre and Armco barriers currently in place aren't doing enough to prevent out-of-control cars from ending up in the paths of those following behind.

Widening the run-off area at Raidillon and the grass on either side of the Kemmel Straight doesn't involve a layout alteration but would be the answer.

Landscape reprofiling would have to occur thanks to the circuit's geography, but it would reduce the chance of crashed cars returning to track.

Those extra metres — and every metre they could move the barriers will help — would save the lives of those in the cars and stop those countless family, friends, and colleagues from the changed lives those close to Anthoine Hubert and Dilano van 't Hoff must live with today.

Yes, there would be costs involved, but with the circuit charging €760 + a €15 'handling fee' for a seat in the nearby grandstands, I'm sure they'll recoup their loss before too long.

An alternative approach of inaction says to me that whatever the price tag is, it's higher than a human life's, and that just isn't so, no matter how iconic a corner complex is.

GPFans sends their best wishes and condolences to Dilano van 't Hoff's family, his team and friends at this extremely difficult time