Aston Martin Formula One driver Lance Stroll on Saturday called for changes to the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium after Dutch racer Dilano van ’t Hoff died in a junior series race.
The 18-year-old, who was involved in a multi-vehicle collision during a wet Formula Regional European Championship race, was the second single-seater fatality in four years at the Belgian Grand Prix circuit.
“It’s a tragic day for motorsport. We lost a driver today, so I just want everyone to think about that,” said Stroll after finishing fourth in a Formula One sprint race at Austria’s Red Bull Ring.
Photo: REUTERS
“My thoughts are with him today. 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 or five 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,” he added.
Double world champion Fernando Alonso, Formula One’s most experienced driver and Stroll’s teammate, said wet weather procedures needed looking into with visibility a real problem.
“We cannot see anything. So if there is a car in the middle of the straight or whatever, that’s the real danger. What happened today should not be repeated,” he said.
Van ’t Hoff won the 2021 Spanish F4 championship and was racing for the Dutch MP Motorsport team on the ladder that leads to Formula One.
Spa hosts the Belgian Grand Prix on July 30.
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