McLaren’s Lando Norris would like Formula 1 to find a way to run in the wet without producing copious amounts of spray, as this would facilitate more racing in wet conditions.
The Singapore Grand Prix was delayed by an hour before the drivers eventually headed out on track on Intermediates, and the race hit the two-hour limit.
Last weekend in Japan saw the drivers race in conditions that were arguably worse, with significant levels of standing water affecting grip and visibility.
The camera angles, looking down on the racetrack, make the rain look much kinder to the drivers than it is, but down in the cockpit, they struggle to see out of their visors.
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In what looked extremely wet conditions, the field set off on Intermediates, and Carlos Sainz instantly aquaplaned at Turn 11, sliding into the wall and out of the race.
That caused a red flag, during which the FIA negligently sent a recovery vehicle out. Due to the poor visibility, Pierre Gasly could not see it, and nearly crashed into it.
That brought back painful memories of Jules Bianchi’s crash after a recovery vehicle was sent onto a live racetrack in 2014, and race control’s error treacherous conditions put multiple lives at risk.
Alex Albon, who retired from the race in Japan due to an engine failure on the opening lap, said, per Planet F1, that “visibility was non-existent – we couldn’t see further than five metres in front of us”.
“Whatever everyone sees from onboards, it’s 100 times worse out there on track – it’s really bad.”
Norris indicated that the wet circuit is not such an issue; the drivers can manage that. The main issue for them is an inability to see what is going on because of the rooster tails going on in front of them.
“The difficult thing is not that it’s too wet but that it’s difficult to see anything at all, those are two different things,” explained Norris.
“In qualifying, those conditions would be perfectly fine and I would love to race, but when you start 10th on the grid and you can’t see anything.
“And you can say ‘it didn’t look that bad on TV’, but if you say something like that, you have to keep your mouth shut because the risk we take to race in those conditions, it’s crazy.”
The 22-year-old testified that, in such conditions, he can see “five, ten metres even if there’s a big taillight on.”
There were terrifying onboard shots of cars driving past Sainz at high speed after his crash, and a stricken car, because of the spray, does not come into view until it is too late to react.
“You also don’t see when someone stops in front of you,” added Norris.
“I didn’t see Carlos’ crash. If I’d been a metre to the left, I’d have crashed right into him because you just can’t see anything.”
The six-time podium finisher would like something to be done about spray coming off the back of the cars, so that the drivers can see when racing in tough conditions.
“Then we could race even in worse conditions, I’d love to do that – I love weather like that,” said Norris.
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“In F2, F3 and F4 we raced in worse conditions, but the spray coming off the tyres [in F1] is just too intense.”
Max Verstappen went on to win the race for Red Bull, sealing his second championship in the process.
Norris finished 10th, taking the final point.