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What to do about Spa?
3 years ago
Karun's 2007 Spa victory was one of the most important of his racing career
My favourite memory from Spa was when I won the GP2 race there in 2007. Along with my debuts in Formula 1 and at Le Mans, that was one of the three biggest days of my professional life. By the end of 2006 I’d run out of money and was staring at a future behind a desk instead of behind the wheel, and that win at Spa put me back on the European map. Then again, racing there in the World Endurance Championship in 2012 was one of my worst racing memories when I aquaplaned off the track at Eau Rouge in heavy rain on the way to the grid, putting us two laps down even before the race started… A heavy reminder that it’s a track that can bite if you don’t treat it with respect, even when you’re not trying to go fast.
In recent years, with my TV hat on, the memories of Spa tend to revolve around standing in wet socks, shivering as we wait for yet another rain delayed red flag to clear. Talking to Charles Leclerc at the Skypad at the very moment his friend Anthoine Hubert crashed was a strange time: we heard the gasps from the crowd but didn’t know what had happened or to whom, let alone that the poor man had lost his life.
It was one of two tragic accidents to hit junior formula racing at Spa in recent years, as Dilano van ’t Hoff was killed earlier this year aged just 18, a few metres beyond the site of Hubert’s accident. Inevitably and rightly, there have been a lot of questions asked about safety at Eau Rouge and Raidillon in light of these accidents, and it’s something the FIA is obviously taking a long, hard look at.
"Now, though, if a driver is slightly off line at Eau Rouge or if the track is slightly damp as it often is, they’re willing to take far more risks because they think they can just unwind some steering lock, cut across the asphalt run off at the top of Raidillon or let the car run out wide on the exit and they’ll be fine"
My view is that Spa is one of those circuits that’s been really negatively impacted by the acres of asphalt run-off that’s been put down all over the place. Back on that first trip in 2003, the edge of the track had gravel pretty much everywhere and the barrier on the outside of Eau Rouge was closer. As a result you were much more mindful about charging in there because if it went wrong, there was nowhere to go; even if you avoided a serious collision, you were out of the race.
Now, though, if a driver is slightly off line at Eau Rouge or if the track is slightly damp as it often is, they’re willing to take far more risks because they think they can just unwind some steering lock, cut across the asphalt run off at the top of Raidillon or let the car run out wide on the exit and they’ll be fine. Similarly at Pouhon and Blanchimont – ultra fast corners where drivers now think they’re invincible because there’s no real consequence beyond a track limits warning from race control.
“A reason that many circuits, including the Red Bull Ring and Silverstone, don’t have gravel lining the track anymore is because the FIM – which controls MotoGP and other two-wheeled racing – says it doesn’t want gravel by the edge of the track and instead prefers a few metres of asphalt before the gravel traps are installed. But MotoGP doesn’t race at Spa”
I’m a huge believer in taking these decisions away from the stewards and letting it work out on the track. By creating these enormous get-out-of-jail areas everywhere at Spa, the drivers are constantly flirting with being penalised rather than facing the prospect of dropping a wheel into the gravel and ending up in the wall. Think back to the utter shambles of the recent Grand Prix in Austria, with over 1200 reports of track limits and hopefully you get my point. At Spa in endurance and GT racing, you can multiply the number of cars on track by three, then factor in that about half of them are not professionals and all of a sudden the utter chaos that often ensues is not that surprising at all.
More than any other circuit, I think Spa must return to having gravel right along the edge of the white line to re-introduce some fear factor into the minds of the drivers. The reality is that all the simulation work the FIA may do is great, but it doesn’t factor in the psychology of the drivers, and this mustn’t be underestimated.
TV simply doesn't do justice to Eau Rouge's incredible speed and elevation change
A reason that many circuits, including the Red Bull Ring and Silverstone, don’t have gravel lining the track anymore is because the FIM – which controls MotoGP and other two-wheeled racing – says it doesn’t want gravel by the edge of the track and instead prefers a few metres of asphalt before the gravel traps are installed. But MotoGP doesn’t race at Spa. And, sure, maintaining the gravel traps on the edge of the track can be a pain and costly, but as we keep hearing from the FIA, you cannot put a price on safety.
Put the gravel back, force drivers to be more respectful of Spa’s most formidable corners and the result will be less chaos, better racing and, hopefully, no more tragedies.
