At the start of the Austrian Grand Prix, many fans lit their flares, partially obscuring the Red Bull Ring in an orange mist. Nice for the pictures, but Lewis Hamilton was not too happy with the torches.
Torches bad for the environment?
Charles Leclerc says the orange haze in the formation lap was quite intense, but not very bad. In terms of visibility, Hamilton largely agrees with his rival, but says at the FIA press conference: "You couldn’t see the apex of Turn 7, and at the end of the race, you couldn't see anything through Turn 6."
"Maybe they should just save them more so for the end? Yeah. I can't believe they're already good environmentally either," Hamilton continued.
Verstappen has no problem with flares
Max Verstappen has less of a problem with the flares. "I saw one flare, like they threw it onto the track or into the grass. I think that's the only thing they [the fans] shouldn't do," he revealed. According to Verstappen, most of the fog is blowing over the track anyway, so he is fine with it.