Russell: Spa is “safe enough”, fellow F1 drivers “don’t think it needs changing”
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Russell is head of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GDPA) – a union for F1 drivers to come together and voice their opinions or concerns.Following the death of Dutch driver Dilano van ‘t Hoff earlier this month, a number of drivers, particularly Lance Stroll, called for organisers to make further modifications to the Belgian circuit.
Van ‘t Hoff’s death meant there has been two high-profile casualties – alongside Anthoine Hubert in 2019 – at Spa in recent years.Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix, Russell told media including RacingNews365: “We’ve spoken about it, and I think between everybody, we concluded that we don’t think it needs changing.“They’ve obviously made a lot of progress with the run-off, so that’s probably the most important thing. “At the moment, we are in constant communication with the FIA following the tragic death of Dilano.”Russell feels wet weather visibility rather than Spa’s circuit layout is the main issue.“There are two questions: is Spa safe enough and the question of the conditions,” he added. “The fact is motorsport will always be dangerous when you are travelling at these speeds. Related “It’s an easy excuse” – Aston Martin disagree with Alonso over poor F1 form Hamilton ‘trusts’ FIA over Spa safety concerns: ‘It’s not my job to decide…’ “If you were to put a ranking of risk of all the circuits, for sure Spa is one of the riskier circuits along with Jeddah and Monaco and Suzuka to a degree.
“Then when you have the combination of the weather, it is very challenging – we just have no visibility whatsoever. “The way I describe it to try and give some perspective is driving down the motorway in pouring rain and turning your windscreen wipers off. That’s genuinely how it feels in the cockpit, so there are not any short-term solutions.“I personally feel Spa is safe enough – but we just need to find a solution in the wet for the visibility.”
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