LONDON – Max Verstappen believes more must be done to protect motor racing drivers after teenager Dilano van ‘t Hoff was killed at Spa-Francorchamps yesterday, reported German news agency dpa.
The 18-year-old Dutchman died following a crash in a Formula Regional European Championship at the Belgian circuit, which will host Formula One’s final round before the summer break later this month.
Van ‘t Hoff died following a multiple-car pile-up on the exit of the notorious Eau Rouge corner in wet conditions.
“It is incredibly sad,” said Verstappen after he won yesterday’s sprint race in Austria.
“I didn’t know him personally, but he was an up-and-coming Dutch racing driver, who had the same dreams as we had at that age in wanting to get to F1.
“We have to look into these situations. It is easy to blame the track, but looking at how wet it was, there are definitely things we need to look at in the future to do a better job to protect drivers because today was unnecessary, clearly.”
Frenchman Anthoine Hubert was killed four years ago following a similar incident at a circuit that has now claimed 49 lives.
Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll demanded alterations be made to the track ahead of the F1 race on July 30.
“It’s not fair what happened, and that corner needs to be looked at and changed because we’ve lost two young talents in the span of five years,” said Stroll.
“We seriously need to think about what to do at 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.
“They will be playing with fire again in a couple of weeks, and it’s not just us. Formula Two kids, Formula Three kids, everyone goes through that corner.”
A moment’s reflection was staged in memory of Van ‘t Hoff ahead of Saturday’s F2 race at Spielberg’s Red Bull Ring. – Bernama, July 2, 2023
