Formula 1 drivers responded to delays caused by rainy weather that affected the Belgian Grand Prix last weekend.
The start of the race at Spa Franco Champ was delayed by an hour and a half due to heavy rain and inadequate visibility, splitting opinions between drivers, teams and fans.
Max Verstappen said it was “meaningless” to delay the start, and insisted that if Formula 1 takes such a careful approach, it might stop racing in the rain.
The issue of wet weather in Formula 1 was one of the main topics that drivers discussed on Thursday’s Media Day at Hungarian Ligue Rampuri.
This is what the driver told the media, including crash.net, hanger ring.
Avoid spray tarmac – use Carlos Sainz
“Formula 1 is pretty much an innovator and I always thought I should try something different, and when I put it in a straight line there is no spray and it can be present, but there is almost no circuit.
“In the end, the biggest issue for us is visibility. That’s what keeps us from racing. I think Spa is a very specific case where there’s a very dark past on this track.
“Maybe we should have done a better job communicating that, maybe they should have communicated with the fans, the world, we’re going to play very easily because of that bleak past, this is what happened in the past, why do we play safely on Sundays?
“I think we could have raced a little earlier than what we did, but we could have followed the red flag and safety car a little earlier, but we need to put ourselves in the shoes of people who say they’re going to press the buttons.
“If there is a lack of visibility, something fatal can happen and if you press a button and you are ultimately responsible for that situation to happen, then a major accident occurs.
Vision was the biggest concern at the spa
Driver Safety – Max Verstappen
“The silverstone was probably on the edge so it was a bit safe, but this was too safe for me. On the other hand, when there’s a lot of spray and you can’t see a lot of stuff, you can also make a big gap if you don’t know where to go.
“This is mostly because some people don’t lift it up when you have a big accident and when they really can’t see. And they basically think that the people in front of them or behind them will also do so, so they keep it locked in. But yeah, that’s complicated.
“Some drivers will say the opposite of what I say. That’s fine. Everyone has their own opinion. I see it as the right race.
“We all looked back at it in the past in Formula 1 and you had these amazing wet races. Today, I think it’s very rare to get this kind of race. Of course, I understand safety, but it’s in your hands if you can keep it safe as a driver.
Drivers will work with FIA -Pierre Gasly
“It’s always easy to explain why it’s too conservative than explaining why it puts a driver in a dangerous situation. At Silverstone, we have nothing to do with racing.
“We want to see the overtaking. We want to see the skill wet, not a race that decides whether to see what’s going on in two meters in front of your car.
“Were they on the conservative side? Yes. Can we complain that they are conservative? I don’t think so. Can we work with them to make a little more accurate judgment and increase the show and on-orbit driving in these conditions?
“I’m sure we’re going to talk about it in the driver briefing and the next race. They’ll get even better and find the right adjustments. I don’t think it’s fair to say they did a bad job.
“We’ll work on that. Our driver, we want to drive wet. We’re fine with that. It’s always exciting. You don’t want to be in a situation you don’t see. You crash in the middle of Kemel and have another incident that you need to explain to another family member.
Pierre Guthry
Current F1 cars are the problem – Alex Albon
“It’s like a job that’s almost impossible for the FIA. We’ve historically seen very serious and life-threatening crashes in wet conditions.
“The person who speaks most about not driving is the driver. We speak when we think we’re ready to go and when we think it’s time. But at this point, we don’t have fully wet tires and truck conditions. The truck isn’t too wet. That’s not enough.
“So, I think drivers are actually in a slightly awkward position in that sense because we look weak. I think we look like we’re complaining and we should continue doing that.
“Driving 250km per hour is the worst feeling and you can’t see 20m right in front of you. The FIA listens and monitors us very closely.
“In wet, with a clear truck, we’re absolutely fine. But at this point, these cars produce a huge amount of spray. As I said, the whole weekend was at the end of Sunday.”
Vision has deteriorated since 2017 – Fernando Alonso
“They’re a bit different from the past, as that set of regulations and wide tires have definitely made their visibility worse, and perhaps some of the circuit’s asphalt was always ok, since they were growing in large quantities of Sepang water.
“Now, this new generation of asphalt is very black and dry and very slippery, but it’s like a damp mirror. Yes, the visibility isn’t good. But we don’t know that tires can be made with a very rough tarmac.
“Then, in the dry state, it’s going to be a big degradation. I don’t know. But we can work from that subject and have a starting point. But I’m just a driver.
“The early 2000s were good, but it was as scary as it is now.”
Lando Norris leads the field with a rolling start
Being Conservative – Gabriel Boltreto
“It was obviously me, so there was a lot of spray when we first went out, but I think it was in a position where we didn’t see anything so we didn’t drive. And obviously, we waited a lot of time for the reboot.
:I understand there are a lot of people who say that it’s a good thing, but some people said it was a little too late. It also depends on how you set up your car. If you have a car set up for dry, I would like to race on dry, but that’s normal.
“I felt it was on the conservative side, but being on the conservative side of a spa is better than putting something already happening in the past at stake.”
“The Old Problem” – Oliver Bareman
“That’s a long-standing problem. I don’t think it will change. It’s not the case of completely wet or between tires, but the level of water on track.
“I think it’s good to have it in some places on the truck, like the straight before the Oak Rouge, but there are some grooves that are currently cut into the truck for drainage, which was actually very good for drainage.
“If they can drain water in straight lines in those ditches, it might probably be beneficial, I’m not sure. But I think we’ll always struggle with this vision problem with things wet, especially with these ground-effect cars. You have to be able to see something.”