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Pierre Gasly

Gasly calls for investigation after fatal Spa crash

After a fatal crash at Spa-Francorchamps on Saturday, Pierre Gasly is the latest driver to suggest that investigations into track safety need to be made to the Belgian Grand Prix venue.

Gasly Austria
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Pierre Gasly says he has felt unsafe racing at Spa-Francorchamps, following a crash there on Saturday that claimed the life of 18-year-old racer Dilano van 't Hoff.

The MP Motorsport driver died in an incident during the second FRECA race at the Belgian Grand Prix venue on Saturday morning, leading to an outpouring of support from across the motorsport world.

Van 't Hoff's crash was eerily similar to one at the same Eau Rouge-Raidillon complex that claimed the life of Gasly's friend and compatriot Anthoine Hubert in an F2 race in 2019, and the Frenchman called for a review of safety procedures at Spa.

"We're all shocked and extremely sad with what's happened, and it reminds us of a very sad time with what happened with Anthoine [four] years ago," Gasly told media, including RacingNews365.com.

"It just seems wrong. We should never be in the position of losing young talents, so clearly there needs to be a review on what's happened, and making sure these scenarios never happen in the future.

"It's not the first time and it should have never taken place. We should have never been in such a situation."

Gasly calls for Spa changes

Safety at Spa has been called into question in recent years after a number of other high-speed accidents at Eau Rouge and Raidillon in both single-seater and GT series, and Gasly said he had previously felt unsafe racing at the Belgian Grand Prix venue.

"It does feel risky," he explained.

"It reminds me of situations I've been in in the younger categories in Spa in similar conditions, and being fully honest, there were times where I did feel in massive danger just with poor visibility. There were situations where it just feels pretty unsafe.

"But once again, I don't know exactly what's happened. We do a risky sport which is always going to remain risky, whatever we do, with the speed that we go at. But it definitely needs a very deep investigation and just for the future of our sport making some changes."

F1 2023 Austrian Grand Prix RN365 News dossier

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