Before the formation lap of the 2022 Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday, the stands of the Red Bull Ring were dyed orange due to the flares used by the thousands of Max Verstappen fans who were there. From the television broadcast, smoke of that color could be seen in the middle of the track, something that could bother the pilots, who are going at more than 300 km / h in the middle of an orange cloud.
Race winner Charles Leclerc explained that he had no setbacks when encountering the smoke in the linked turns 6 and 7 : “On the formation lap there was quite a bit [smoke], but nothing too bad, you could still see it, so it was fine.”
However Lewis Hamilton, who criticized the behavior of some fans on Friday after they celebrated his accident in qualifying, admitted that “you couldn’t see anything” in that area at the end of the test.
“I would say the same [as Leclerc],” said the Mercedes driver after the words of the Ferrari member. “In the formation lap, you couldn’t see the apex of Turn 7, and at the end of the race you couldn’t see anything in Turn 6.
“Fortunately, it wasn’t necessary [to be able to see] during the race, but maybe they should save it for last. I don’t think it’s good for the environment either,” said the seven-time world champion.
Foto de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Alessio Morgese
Photo By: Andy Hone/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
For his part, Max Verstappen, the driver to whom the orange flares were dedicated, said that fans should not throw them on the track, but for the rest, he did not see any problem with them being in the stands.
“I saw a flare, as if it had been thrown on the track or on the grass,” explained the Dutchman from Red Bull, who finished second in the Austrian event. “I think that’s the one thing they shouldn’t do, but as long as they stay in the stands [regardless of the smoke coming in from the direction of the wind], I think it’s fine.”
Flares have caused problems on circuits before, such as MotoGP, who carried out a rider-led campaign not to light them during the 2018 Czech Grand Prix for track safety.
Normally, and even now that Valentino Rossi is no longer in the championship, you can see yellow flares from the fans of the Italian driver at the races in his country.
