Safety Urgency: F1 Figures Push for 1994-Style Chicane at Spa-Francorchamps
Jul.8 - Two prominent F1 figures are proposing that Spa-Francorchamps installs a 1994-style chicane in the wake of single-seater junior Dilano van 't Hoff's fatal crash last weekend.
Formula 1 will host its Belgian GP at the fabled circuit at the end of this month, as some call for urgent safety changes.
"You can't see anything coming over that hill in bad weather conditions," said seven time world champion Lewis Hamilton.
"This has happened now twice, so we definitely need to take a step."
Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher thinks a solution similar to what Spa put in place in the wake of Ayrton Senna's death in 1994 could work.
Then, drivers braked for a slow chicane rather than blasting through the treacherous Eau Rouge.
"Now, you fly blindly up the mountain at almost 300," Schumacher told Auto Bild. "If someone's sitting on the driving line, you can no longer react."
He thinks a 1994-style chicane could now work again in 2023.
"You'd put it in front of Eau Rouge again," said the former Williams and Toyota driver. "This drastically reduces the speed and therefore the risk of a frontal crash at high speeds."
Another proponent of the controversial chicane solution is current Alfa Romeo driver Guanyu Zhou, who admits he still can't bring himself to watch the replay of his frightening upside-down crash at Silverstone a year ago.
"I looked at it once in the medical centre," said the Chinese, "because I wanted to know why I turned over.
"Now when I see a replay of it I turn the screen off because it's scary going back to that. I try not to think about it," Zhou added.
It's no surprise, therefore, that he thinks a new chicane at Spa could work.
"From my side, the layout needs to change," the 24-year-old said ahead of the British GP.
"I lost a friend of mine there in 2019, Anthoine (Hubert), so it kind of hurts there. It's an iconic corner for sure, but just for safety, we've lost too many lives in the past and I think it's time.
"I saw some videos of 1994, I think - when there was a slow little chicane," Zhou recalled. "I think that's the right way forward."
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The most recent fatal accident wasn't even track-related & even otherwise, I couldn't disagree more with Ralf & Zhou on reinstating an artificial chicane, which would be overboard gimmicky.
The reality is that, as admission tickets and pit passes tell you, "Motor Racing is Dangerous"! Spa is probably one of the most challenging race tracks, and Eau Rouge the most testing bend, in the world. It sorts out the best drivers from the also-rans.
I mean, F1 drivers are supposedly, as the commentators tell us week after week, the best drivers in the world. If you take out all the demanding parts of a race track, then Aunty Mary will be able to compete in her Reliant Robin!
Every driver of a racing car, no matter which category, knows that there is a possibility they may crash and be injured, possibly fatally, whilst they are competing, because they are driving at the limit of their skills and the limit of their car's capabilities. If we dumb down all the challenging corners and demanding parts of a race track then there will be no opportunity for drivers to show their superior skills.
Certainly, nobody wants drivers to crash, and nobody likes to see a driver injured in any way. However, the stark reality is that motor racing is dangerous and anyone who races a car does so because they accept the challenges that they face during a race. That is what inspires racing drivers to be competitive.
If you want to eliminate all the dangers then we would have them all driving kiddie karts and not exceed 5 MPH!