Van ‘t Hoff, 18, died following a crash at Spa
Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll has called for changes to the famous Spa-Francorchamps circuit after a fatal accident there on Saturday.
Dilano van ‘t Hoff, 18, died after being hit by another car on Spa’s Kemmel straight in a Formula Regional Europe race.
Stroll drew parallels with the fatal accident involving Frenchman Anthoine Hubert in a Formula 2 race at Spa in 2019.
“It’s not fair what happened today. That corner needs to be changed. We’ve been saying it for years,” Stroll said.
The Belgian Grand Prix will be held on the same Spa track on 28-30 July.
Stroll added: “They need to do something. Playing with fire in a couple of weeks’ time. Again.
“We seriously need to think about what to do with that corner because it’s never fun going through there.
“Every time we go through there we put our lives on the line, and today we saw something bad happen and it’s not right. We discussed it and then it blows over and it needs to be changed.”
World champion Max Verstappen also said lessons needed to be learned, though suggested the track itself was not necessarily the main issue in Van ‘t Hoff’s crash.
“It’s easy to blame the track,” Verstappen said, “but looking at how wet it was and these kind of things, definitely there are things we have to look at for the future, what we can do better to protect drivers because today it was unnecessary, clearly.”
What happened in the accident?
Van ‘t Hoff was hit by another car after losing control on the Kemmel straight in wet conditions.
He came to rest broadside across the track in limited visibility and was rammed side-on by a rival.
Hubert’s accident also happened when he was T-boned by another car, but his crash was in dry conditions, and a few hundred metres earlier in the lap, on the exit of the Raidillon corner, the final part of the infamous Eau Rouge swerves.
Eau Rouge is the most iconic section of a track that has hosted grands prix for a century and which is regarded as one of the greatest challenges for racing drivers anywhere in the world. Drivers accept that, with the reward of driving at Spa, the risks are higher than at more modern tracks.
Former Williams driver Jack Aitken told the BBC 5 live Chequered Flag podcast there were crucial differences between the accidents of Hubert and Van ‘t Hoff.
The Briton, who fractured his collarbone and a vertebra in an accident at Raidillon in an endurance race in 2021, said: “Many are saying it was quite similar to Hubert. I would say that although there are similarities – the type of collision, a multiple-car accident, at the same circuit – we should not be too quick to jump to conclusions.
“The factors that led to the collision are very different.
“People are saying it was in the same corner but it’s really not. Anthoine had his accident at Raidillon, the top of Eau Rouge, which is a blind crest. The walls used to be quite close but they have made changes since that accident. Whereas this accident happened further along the Kemmel straight. It was really due to the poor visibility.
“There are a lot of things we need to learn from that. In spray like that, you really cannot see more than 10 metres in front of you in these cars. You are entirely trusting the drivers in front to not lift and hoping there is no-one slow or stopped on track because there isn’t anything you can do about it.
“It is very sad to lose someone so young. We have had a lot of changes to Raidillon. They are good changes. I can attest to that. I had quite a nasty accident there myself and they have really opened up the barrier space there and moved the barriers back. It is still a blind corner and dangerous but this is a different accident.”
Members of teams from the lower categories paid tribute at the Austrian Grand Prix before the sprint race
What does the F1 drivers’ body say?
Alex Wurz, the chairman of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA), told BBC Sport it was important to wait for the investigation into the accident before deciding on the next steps.
Wurz said he knew Van ‘t Hoff because his own son Charlie Wurz is racing in the same category.
“It is heartbreaking to see that,” Wurz said. “A young driver full of aspiration has lost his life in that tragic accident.
“Normally I am a member of the accident investigation groups and the best thing is to get the report and analyse all the details.
“But of course we know that a high-speed T-bone accident is an absolute nightmare for any race car. The cars are tested to crash against all the kinds of barriers but they are not specifically tested for such absolute worst-case T-bone situations.
“And I remember from the Hubert accident the strength of a chassis to be made to survive such a crash would be so strong that the cars would be much heavier. Is it something we should accept or not? I can’t answer that.
“Sometimes those T-bone accidents would not be survivable even in an F1 car with the current safety standards. But I would rather wait for the facts of the investigation and then see what can be steps to take.
“Perhaps we will never get full safety. The same as with the aviation industry. It has become very safe but if multiple things go wrong it remains dangerous.
“It’s the same with motorsport. Danger is something we must accept but we still want to counter that with science to ensure we get safer.”
Wurz would not comment on Stroll’s demands for change at Raidillon.
A senior figure with knowledge of the situation told BBC Sport that, on balance, the drivers were satisfied with the modifications that have been made at the corner to increase safety.
Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff said: “I’m sure the FIA will look into it and say ‘what is it we need to improve?’
“We all cherish Spa because of the track it is, but is there something we need to look at?
“I have seen the video of the accident and it seemed that it happened much later than Raidillon so there must have been some tangling on the straight and then low visibility.
“It is beyond words. Learn, learn learn. What are the steps we can take and make sure young lives are protected as best as possible. But it is a dangerous sport.”
A spokesperson for motorsport’s governing body the FIA said: “We will be reviewing the available data to fully understand the incident before making any further comment.”