After the Belgian GP was called off after just two laps behind the safety car, many were quick to criticize the organizers for calling off the race as they felt that F1 races have been held in such conditions in the past. McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo has now spoken about the change in mindset in F1 as quoted by The Independent
Link to poll: https://www.youtube.com/post/Ugz-OgG8iTh34HqmArd4AaABCQ
0:00 - Why Wasn’t The Belgian GP Simply Held In The Rain Like Other Races In The Past?
1:39 - Fast Feed
I'm your host Tyler and first up on Formula World:
Why Wasn’t The Belgian GP Simply Held In The Rain Like Other Races In The Past?
Daniel began by explaining the change in mindset in F1
“There is a change in mind-sets to it all. I wasn’t around in the era when it was kind of normal to have fatalities in the sport. I am sure it was hard to accept but because it was more regular it was kind of expected. And knowing what I know now would I have raced in the 60s? No”
He then spoke about the difference between taking risks and being unsafe
“We like the risk but if you are talking about a matter of life or death, it is not worth that. We are still competing in a dangerous sport and playing on the edge of danger, but there is danger and being unsafe, and there is the extreme of having people unnecessarily helicoptered out of here”
He was then asked why the 20 best drivers in the world couldn’t simply race in the rain. He responded by saying
“The most simple response, and I am not trying to sound smart, is that it is just physics, simple physics that the car will not stay on the road”
He signed off by pointing out the flaw in the argument that they simply had to drive slower in the rain
“Could we go slower? I guess. But then the issue is because we are slow you will have some drivers who do something out of the physical realms of the car and you are going to have a bigger incident because of closing speeds. In a way, that causes more problems”
Fast Feed
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc feels that “it was a good call to make sure [they] are all safe given the gravity of the rain” [f1]
He thinks “one of [their] general weaknesses is the wet, so [they] will work on improving that over the next few weeks”
His team principal Mattia Binotto suggested that “now [they] must concentrate on the next race in Zandvoort, a historic circuit which makes its return to the championship calendar after a very long absence”
Honda F1’s technical director Toyoharu Tanabe has confirmed that they are already “tuning the power unit [for Zandvoort] based on the track data and the team's simulation results” [AS Web]
F1’s managing director Ross Brawn has stated that George Russell’s “performance [from qualifying] reminded [him] a lot of Fernando Alonso when he drove at a wet Spa for Minardi in 2001” [F1]
“He was mighty impressive in a car that clearly was not up to the job. In those conditions, the ratio of driver to car changes – and we saw that with George on Saturday”
“In my view, there is only one decision for Mercedes next year with regards the second seat”, Brawn suggested
Former F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone “would have told the teams and the drivers at 3pm, ‘It is raining, we are prepared to put it off for an hour and hope the weather is going to change” [The Telegraph]
“But no matter what happens the race will start at 4pm and then it is up to you whether you take part or not’”
Williams team principal Jost Capito thinks that the “FOM and the FIA did exactly what was needed to do to be safe for the drivers and still having a race, if you call it a race, but having a result” [F1]
“Of course, in the position we were in we are absolutely happy that it was like this and having the first podium after many years is absolutely outstanding and is fantastic”, he added
Alpine’s Fernando Alonso has reiterated that “there was only one red flag situation on the track and [they] only drove behind the Safety Car, that was not a race” [Soymotor]
He clarified that “everyone involved did their best, so it’s no one’s fault, but it’s a shame”
McLaren’s Lando Norris doesn’t think that “any points should be awarded for [the Belgian GP]. To drive round behind the safety car and for people to get points?”
“Maybe I'll be saying the opposite if I was first, on a good amount of points”, he added
“Even though it's benefited us today, Daniel [Ricciardo] got a good amount of points comparing to Ferrari, I don't think it was a race deserving of points, because it wasn't a race at the end of the day”
Did the FIA play it too safe in Spa?
0 Comments