- No official statement was provided on the cause of the Saturday accident that killed 18-year-old Dilano van t’Hoff.
- Video taken by a spectator appeared to show Van t’Hoff’s spinning car being struck side-on at high speed.
- The crash happened in wet conditions during a Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine race at Spa-Francorchamps race circuit in Belgium on Saturday.
Formula 1 drivers have called for changes to be made to the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps after a second fatal accident at the track in junior motorsport in five years.
Dilano van t’Hoff, 18, was killed during a high-speed accident in wet conditions during a Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine race on Saturday morning.
No official statement was provided on the cause of the accident but footage filmed by a spectator appeared to show Van t’Hoff’s spinning car being struck side-on at high speed by a competitor along the first part of the Kemmel Straight.
FRECA is certified by the FIA and is one of the series on the single-seater ladder, often regarded as a potential stepping stone between Formula 4 and Formula 3.
A full investigation is due to be carried out into the accident.
Formula 1 will return to Spa-Francorchamps for this year’s Belgian Grand Prix from July 29-31. The Belgian Grand Prix is one of the most historic events on the calendar, having first been held in 1922, with the undulating Spa-Francorchamps track in the Ardennes Forest the venue.
Spa-Francorchamps’ Eau Rouge/Raidillon complex is among the most famous in motorsport, with the circuit rising steeply through a valley, parts of which have limited visibility.
There is also little in the way of runoff, with the situation also compromised by the circuit’s topography, though revisions to the run-offs were made on safety grounds in 2022.
While Saturday’s accident came a few meters further along than the Raidillon complex it is a section of track that has led to some severe incidents.
The most high-profile came in 2019, when Anthoine Hubert was killed and Juan Manuel Correa suffered life-altering injuries in a multi-car pile-up in Formula 2, Formula 1’s main support category.
McLaren’s Lando Norris had a high-speed accident in Formula 1 qualifying in wet conditions in 2021 while the same year there was a multi-car pile-up in W Series at the complex, with competitors pitched back onto the racing line and struck by rivals. There have also been accidents and near-misses in other championships.
Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll was the most vocal about the situation.
“It’s not fair what happened, and that corner needs to be looked at and changed, because we lost two young talents in like five years, it needs to be changed,” he said.
“We’re going there in a few weeks, it’s horrible what happened today, we lost a member of the racing family.
“We seriously need to think about what to do with that corner as it’s never fun going through there, every time we go through there we put our lives on the line, today we saw something bad happen. It’s not right.
“They need to do something. You know, [we are] playing with fire, in a couple of weeks’ time, again, and not just us. F2 kids, F3 kids, everyone goes through that corner.
“Even if it’s dry and someone loses the car it’s a blind corner, hit the wall, car comes out, 300 plus km/h, you’re toast.”
Alpine driver Pierre Gasly asserted that “we should never be in such positions of losing young talent” and added that “it’s not the first time, and it shouldn’t have taken place.”
Gasly agreed that the area of the circuit is “risky” and explained that “it kind of reminds me of situations I’ve been in the younger categories in Spa, in the similar conditions, and being fully honest, there were times I did feel in massive danger just with poor visibility and various situations where it just feels pretty unsafe.”
Stroll’s Aston Martin teammate Fernando Alonso added that “I don't know, really, if it's the track or it's just the speed, you know, and the visibility. I think the biggest thing is the visibility. The visibility is that poor that we cannot drive in certain circuits at certain speed. So I don't know if it's a problem of Spa itself.
"I guess Monza, if you find a car in the middle of the straight, you will not see it. So, it's just that poor visibility. And that's something that we cannot afford it again what happened today. It has to be the last time that happens.”
AlphaTauri’s Nyck de Vries emphasized that “it still shows there is serious danger [in motorsport], and concerning the track and the situation, maybe we have to consider twice and look at what can be done to avoid any serious incident going forward.”
