Formula 1 drivers critical of safety at iconic Belgian racetrack following fatal crash

One of motorsports most infamous corners claimed another victim on Saturday as Dutch Formula Regional Europe driver Dilano van ‘t Hoff died following a crash at Eau Rouge-Raidillion at the Circuit of Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. He was 18.

After van ‘t Hoff’s death, a number of drivers from the highest level of European motorsports — Formula 1 — spoke out about that corner and track conditions in particular. Aston Martin F1 driver Lance Stroll told SkySports that changes should be considered to the high-speed rollercoaster of a corner.

“It breaks my heart what happened, and I think Eau Rouge at Spa needs some looking into, because we’ve lost two drivers now in the span of four years,” Stroll said. “It’s a really dangerous corner, and we say it every year, and 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. Today it happened again, and we lost a young kid, and it’s not fair,” Stroll continued, adding that “we have to talk about it.”

This weekend, the F1 World Championship series is racing at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria. The F1 teams will make the annual trip to Spa the weekend of July 30 for a race. There have been several high-force impacts through Eau Rouge-Raidillion among F1 drivers through the years, as the likes of McLaren’s Lando Norris and then-Renault driver Kevin Magnussen have found themselves hitting barriers at high speeds.

And as Stroll alluded to, in 2019 a driver in the Formula 2 support series — 22-year-old Anthoine Hubert — died following a crash in a Saturday race prior to the Formula 1 race on Sunday. Hubert crashed in the Eau Rouge-Raidillion section.

The reason the section of track is so perilous is largely because it combines borderline flat-out driving with a step set of elevation changes — barreling downhill before climbing over a blind crest — while making a quick left-right-left turn through what looks like a gentle chicane.

Through the years, cars have only gotten faster at traversing the iconic bit of raceway, raising the excitement — and the jeopardy — significantly.

The presence of water on the track — not uncommon in the Ardennes in the summer — makes it that much trickier to safely navigate. There were wet conditions on Saturday when van ‘t Hoff crashed, limiting both grip and visibility.

His crash was similar to the one that killed Hubert, albeit in worse conditions. After spinning out and tagging the barrier, van ‘t Hoff was in his car, sideways, in the middle of a straight. With no drive after the initial impact and the oncoming cars unable to see through the spray from other cars, van ‘t Hoff’s car was struck from the side at high speed.

“We cannot see anything. So if there is a car in the middle of the straight or whatever, that’s the real danger,” said Aston Martin F1 driver and two-time world champion Fernando Alonso.

He concluded: “What happened today should not be repeated.”