FLOYD ON F1: Leave it in the hands of the drivers

I have loved and followed motorsport all of my life, in just about every shape and form. Of course, F1 is my passion and has been for many years. Enough to say I watched legends such as Juan Manual Fangio and Alberto Ascari.

But in all those years, I have never waited over three-and-a-half hours for the start of a Grand Prix, only to watch the shortest race in history. My sympathy goes to those 75 000 spectators who spent three wet and extremely cold days at Spa Francorchamps for the strangest Belgian Grand Prix last weekend.

Watching the teams in the pit lane for hours while the officials checked the rule book and the weather radar, reminded one of military life where it is all “hurry up and wait”.

A disturbing aspect of Sunday’s race was the call from some drivers and a Sky commentator suggesting “something has to be done about Eau Rouge and Raidillon” after serious incidents in recent races, fortunately with no fatalities. The implication was, it was simply too dangerous, particularly in the wet.

Lewis Hamilton was quoted as saying: “Spa is a great, great circuit, but It is very bumpy now through Eau Rouge, something is happening.

“They’ve kind of ruined it a little bit with whatever it is. I don’t know if they have got a new patch of tarmac there, but there’s a massive bump right at the compression point which we’ve never had before.

“You feel it on the backside, but I’m sure they will fix it. I think it has something to do with the mudslides, the rain, or something like that.”

After the massive flooding experienced in Europe recently, it is more than possible it has affected some parts of the circuit.

FLOYD ON F1: Importance of a wingman

Yet, with the exception of McLaren’s Lando Norris, we witnessed a wet qualifying where 19 other cars negotiated said bends with no serious issues.

Perhaps the onus should rest with the driver and their own capability to deal with such conditions. After all, motor racing is an inherently dangerous sport and all competitors are aware of this.

Sky’s pundit Martin Brundle, believes the modern drivers are akin to gladiators and the reasons they are involved in dangerous sport is to experience being on the edge and taking a risk.

Hear, hear, let us not start altering classic tracks to suit the drivers. It must be the drivers who should adjust their style at such circuits.

There was a rather bizarre announcement from Formula 1 regarding a new trophy for F1 drivers to strive for.

It is sponsored by new partner Crypto.com and will be known as the Overtake Award. It will be presented to the driver who achieves the highest number of passes within the season.

A spokesperson for the new partner was reported as saying: “The Crypto.com Overtake Award gives us the chance to celebrate drivers’ instincts to make bold and strategic moves which reflect the qualities needed when dealing in crypto currency.”

Ja, well, no fine.

Apparently there will be new live graphics on your television screen during the racing, which will “signal overtaking possibilities and potential moves”.

Most fans I know are more than capable of working that out for themselves.

Too see the standings in the 2021 F1 Driver’s Championship, click here.