Pierre Gasly confirmed that the drivers will review the start conditions of the Dutch Grand Prix of Formula 1, after a partially wet track caused a series of incidents at the beginning of the race. Max Verstappen lost control at the last corner and crashed hard into the protective barrier still on the first lap, retiring from the race.
Read more F1: Haas ends test without favorite between Câmara and rivals
Most of the circuit was dry, but the final corner remained wet in some spots, with water accumulated at the bottom of the inclined section. Even with the track in these conditions, the race started after only one formation lap led by the safety car, followed by a conventional standing start on the grid.
Verstappen was one of the main victims. The Red Bull Racing driver touched a wet curb with the right rear tire, lost control of the car, and ended up hitting the concrete barrier on the outside of the last corner. Gabriel Bortoleto also escaped a more serious accident after spinning 360 degrees just behind Verstappen, while Gasly came close to retiring.
The Frenchman assessed that the procedure could have been different: “If we follow the path we took, with one lap behind the safety car and a standing start, I would have preferred to do a normal warm-up lap, so we could go a little faster,” Gasly said.
Read more F1: Wolff dismisses idea that Verstappen would not fit in Mercedes
According to the Alpine driver, an alternative would be to allow the cars to go through the last corner at least once before the start: “I think it was simply due to the conditions and the choice of tires, unfortunately. We will review the feedback from the drivers for the next race,” he said.
Gasly also pointed out two possibilities for similar situations in the future, which would be to eliminate the safety car and perform only one formation lap, or keep it on the track longer: “With the safety car, at least give us an extra lap,” he added.
The French driver, who was among the frontrunners and quickly reached the site of Verstappen’s accident, also highlighted the specific difficulty of the last corner: “It was the wettest corner. It was extremely difficult even to exit turn 13, and Max had a huge slide on the wet part and couldn’t recover the car,” he concluded.
Read more MotoGP: Márquez takes the lead at the start and wins Sprint in Aragón
