Sad and even more so given his age. It is however a dangerous sport. Horse riding is a riskier sport than motor racing with more deaths annually.
Has anyone else seen this ? British Grand Prix: Formula 1 drivers back trial of device to reduce rain spray Formula 1 drivers have backed a trial of a device aimed at reducing spray in the rain - and said races should not be started if visibility is bad. McLaren and Mercedes are conducting a test of a mudguard-style device at Silverstone on 13 July. McLaren's Lando Norris said: "It's about time. As drivers, we have said for years that something needs to be done." Rain is forecast for the British Grand Prix on Saturday and Sunday. Norris added that poor visibility in the wet was "the biggest safety concern at the minute within F1". Dutch driver Dilano van 't Hoff was killed in a junior category race at Spa-Francorchamps last Saturday in exactly the sort of accident about which F1 drivers have been warning. The 18-year-old T-boned a car that had crashed on the straight and bounced back on to the track, having been unsighted by spray from other cars in a wet race. Norris said: "We've been lucky that nothing has happened in F1 or many other categories and in the worst case sadly we've had to lose a life for people to realise those things can happen. "And it couldn't just happen there. It could have happened last weekend for us in Austria. "It's a shame we had to see such a consequence for people to understand what can happen. It's something that needs to be done. "What's the next thing that can improve safety the most? It's actually being able to see where we're going. That helps sometimes. I look forward to it. I am doing a test so we will see how good it will be. If it doesn't work something else needs to be done to find a solution “ Other drivers said on media day at the British Grand Prix that, whether the mudguard device worked or not, officials should raise their limits for acceptable conditions in which races can be started in the wet. Modern F1 cars produce more downforce than ever before and the power of the cars' aerodynamics significantly worsens the amount of spray they produce. Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas said: "We shouldn't be starting races in any category if you basically can't see." Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll said: "If it works, it has to be put on the cars as quickly as possible. And if it doesn't work, we should not be putting ourselves in situations where we're racing in conditions where we can't see." Van 't Hoff's accident happened on the Kemmel straight, a few hundred metres on from the exit of the infamous Eau Rouge swerves, which are taken at close to 200mph and finish with a blind left-hander over a crest called Raidillon. Stroll said: "We can't see anything in heavy wet weather. Japan last year, I can recall many races over the past few races in F1 were you just cannot see anything when you are behind another car and it's extremely dangerous. "If someone has an incident in front of you and is sideways in the middle of the track and you can't see where you're going, we shouldn't be racing in those conditions. "It's terrible what happened last week. I don't think that race should have gone ahead in those conditions with the layout of that track. I remember being in that exact situation in Spa when you are coming up on top of Eau Rouge and you're in the middle of a pack and you can't see anything." Haas driver Kevin Magnussen said: "When you can't see, it feels ridiculous when you're doing those speeds and you might as well close your eyes. There is zero visibility and it would be great if that could be improved significantly." Red Bull's Sergio Perez said he believed the new anti-spray device would the affect downforce levels of the cars and some teams would suffer more than others. But he added: "Safety should come first. It might allow us to race in more dangerous conditions." Now I agree with having something to try and reduce the spray . also Starting in atrocious conditions is not good either . surely though if it’s raining and not to serious , isn’t that part of the skill ? To get away as swiftly as possible without crashing etc ?
If I draw a comparison with sub that imploded under pressure. The owner has been heavily criticised for being a maverick, doing things without due care, regular tests and inspections. Racing blind is pretty damn reckless too! Warrants the due care. I hope this device proves helpful.
Danny is back from Hungary onwards, replacing Nyck de Vries. Apparantly his times in the Redbull would have put him on the front row last weekend, although a measure caution I feel should apply to that as the track conditions may have been different. Good news as far as I am cconcerned.
It was absolutely superb- I cannot lie - I genuinely shed a little tear at points in it, a wonderful acknowledgement of a superb man and driver. Just incredibly authentic
The rumour mill seems to be running with a story about cost cap breaches and Horner seems to have a fair bit to say this past weekend about being so hard done by in the amount of aero testing they are allowed. Seems too much of a coincidence that he is trying to say their punishment was severe when they still have the most dominant car by over 0.5 seconds a lap in race trim - I believe more like 1 second if they needed to. IF Red Bull or any other team have breached the cost cap then they need a severe punishment that will actually hurt their car in quite a drastic way. Also Stefano Domenicali is calling for any team that breaches the cost cap to be hit with sporting sanctions rather than financial penalties. Maybe that's because he knows Red Bull are a team that have breached the cap and he wants points deduction to try and bring the teams closer and not finish the championship in a month or so? It seems like there is lots of talk about the cost cap - suggesting that either a few teams have more questions to answer or there are some leaks suggesting teams have breached the cap. They are supposed to be auditing last years faster as they have 10 full time staff as opposed to 4 the first year! So hopefully we don't need to wait till October to find out the results.
No one was suspicious of their '21 spending, but everyone was suspicious of their '22 spending, so I won't be surprised if they've broken it twice in a row. Nor will I be surprised if the FIA let them keep all their titles and records even if they have.
Off to London tomorrow, then onto the Eurostar & liege for the Belgium Race . I don’t care ( within reason ) what the weather does , just PLEASE make it an interesting race
I went in 2008. So not a bad race to have been there for! Left the circuit elated at an exciting Hamilton win, arrived back at the hotel to bad news...
I was there in 96 , then again in 98 as a Jordan fan I was in the grandstand at Pouhon , first corner after MS went into DC . He went pas us and we ( British ) were singing 3 wheels on my wagon Then Jordan won , flukey Of course , but after THAT start and thankfully nobody getting hurt , I was over the moon
