Charles Leclerc has argued that the FIA would be within its rights to cancel the upcoming Belgian GP due to rain – and there should be no complaints if it does.
Extremely wet conditions have been forecast for the race at Spa-Francorchamps this weekend.
The topic of visibility and driver safety has been a prominent talking point in the F1 world in recent weeks.
Spa-Francorchamps was the site where FRECA driver Dilano van’t Hoff died in a crash earlier this month.
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It’s believed that weather conditions had a large part to play in this tragedy.
Max Verstappen took a controversial stance when arguing that weather had a larger part to play in van’t Hoff’s crash than the dangerous design of the circuit.
Verstappen commented: “With that scenario, where there is almost no visibility, a lot of water, that is a big issue. I think.
“In the dry, normally, it’s a bit better. You see, of course, more of what is going on in front of you.”
Van’t Hoff was the second fatality at Spa in the last five years, with Anthoine Hubert passing away following a violent crash at the 2019 F2 Feature Race.
The two tragic deaths prompted questions regarding Spa’s safety, with a particular focus on the Eau Rouge corner, where many observed drivers have very limited visibility.
Leclerc highlighted measures that the track could implement to improve safety for drivers.
The Monegasque driver said: “I think there are some changes that could make a difference.
“First of all, the walls on the straight after Eau Rouge, we should have a bit more space on the left and right.
“If you lose control of the car, the way it is done at the moment you are bouncing on the walls and you have a very high chance of finding yourself in the way.
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“Visibility is really difficult to put into words what we are saying, apart from saying we are seeing nothing.
“We are not exaggerating when we say we don’t see anything, we really don’t see anything when it’s raining.”
For these reasons, Leclerc says the FIA would be blameless if it was to cancel this weekend’s Grand Prix.