Lance Stroll demands Spa changes in emotional response to fatal crash
Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll shoved his trainer in Qatar.
Lance Stroll paid tribute to MP Motorsport racer Dilano van ‘t Hoff who sadly passed away after a multi-car crash at Spa, and says the repeated safety debates must now lead to change.
The heartbreaking memories of Anthoine Hubert’s fatal incident at Spa-Francorchamps in 2019 remain raw, and sadly on July 1, 2023, it was confirmed that another young racer had lost his life at the venue.
On sprint race day for Formula 1 in Austria, news emerged that Van ‘T Hoff had died following a multi-car crash down the Kemmel Straight at a rain-soaked Spa, this the section of track which follows Raidillon/Eau Rouge where Hubert had lost his life.
Lance Stroll demands Spa circuit changes
Once more then the topic of safety at Spa is painfully under the microscope, and after discussions about the danger of that corner on an annual basis, Stroll said now changes have to be made with Hubert and Van ‘T Hoff’s lives having been claimed.
“A quick word for Dilano, it’s a tragic day for motorsport. We lost a driver today,” said Stroll after finishing P4 in the Austria sprint.
“I just want everyone to think about that and my thoughts are with him today. It breaks my heart what happened.
“I think Eau Rouge at Spa needs some looking into because we’ve lost two drivers now in a span of four or five years. And it’s a really dangerous corner and we say it every year. It’s not fair what happened today.
“I think that corner has to change. I think it’s way too dangerous and I think every time we go through there, there’s an accident waiting to happen. And today, it happened again, and we lost a young kid. It’s not fair.”
Asked if the drivers will discuss this incident and what the response should be, and whether that falls within their scope of influence, Stroll replied: “Well we have to talk about it.
“Like I said, two drivers in a span of five years and yeah, that corner needs some changing.”
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Alonso and Stroll treated viewers to a thrilling battle over P4 in the closing stages of the Austria sprint on a drying track, but post-race he also had his say on the sad events at Spa.
Told that Stroll had called for the corner to be changed, Alonso raised the point of how poor visibility heading down the straight is perhaps the main topic of concern which needs addressing, rather than the Raidillon/Eau Rouge corner.
“I think the visibility in wet conditions is just incredible [sic] in single seaters now, and especially Formula 1, because the speeds are higher,” he said.
“So when we see all these red flags, all these delays, and people at home don’t understand really why we do that, it’s not because of the grip or we cannot control the car. Of course we can, but we cannot see anything. So if there is a car in the middle of the straight or whatever, that’s the real danger.
“So what happened today should not be repeated in the future. If it’s just the spray of the cars needs to be studied to reduce it, if it’s just the circuit layout.
“I don’t know if Spa is the problem, because I guess in Monza it will be the same thing. If you find one car in the middle of the straight in Monza, you will not be able to see it. And that’s the real problem.”
PlanetF1.com would like to express our condolences to the friends, family, colleagues, and fellow racers of Dilano van ‘t Hoff.
