Stuck criticises FIA: 'Starting behind safety car is a joke!'

F1 News

Hans-Joachim Stuck highly critical of race management at Spa
3 August 2023 at 20:20
Last update 3 August 2023 at 22:13

Former Formula 1 driver Hans-Joachim Stuck does not understand anything about the decisions made by the race management during the Belgian GP. In an interview with Eurosport, the German is particularly critical of the measures taken by the FIA on rainy weekends, believing that the drivers should simply be allowed to race in these conditions.

Although the interview initially began with a question about his opinion on Red Bull's lead being reduced by rule changes, Stuck immediately opened the attack on the FIA. "I think that [rule changes to reduce lead] is totally unfair! It is much more important that the FIA would organise itself properly for once and stop using safety cars during rain and nonsense like that," Stuck begins his story.

Sprint race with a rolling start

The former driver found it incomprehensible that it took the race organisers a long time to start the race. "The best drivers in the world are in those cars, but then such a circus is organised when it rains. Then they just drive a bit slower! A rolling start behind the safety car, what a joke it is!" Stuck is referring to the sprint race at Spa, where the safety car ran four laps ahead of the field before the race started. When the track was finally released, it was immediately clear to the drivers that the track was already good enough for intermediates.

Earlier, analyst Martin Brundle was also critical of the race committee's decisions. In particular, Brundle referred to safety risks that would occur precisely after a cautious approach by race control.