Formula 1 qualification for the Belgian Grand Prix has been temporarily halted after a serious accident involving Briton Lando Norris. The McLaren driver lost control of his car on a wet track on Saturday and crashed into the barriers after the legendary Eau Rouge corner. His car was badly damaged in Spa-Francorchamps. At first sight, the 21-year-old got out of his car unharmed and was later examined in the route hospital. Norris had previously shown a strong performance and even had a chance of pole position for the race on Sunday (3 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for Formula 1 and on Sky).
"Sorry guys. That was my fault, ”Norris radioed to the pits shortly after the crash. Few moments before, he had noticed that there was aquaplaning on the slopes. Still, Norris took full risk in the third part of qualifying and wanted to drive a fast lap. Former world champion Sebastian Vettel thought that was impossible and told his Aston Martin team that normal driving was not possible. The Hessian asked for the red flag on the radio, which would have interrupted the unit.
But the race management apparently considered the conditions manageable and did not intervene. "What the hell did I say? What did i say Red flag! ", Vettel radioed after he found out about the accident to his team and added:" That was unnecessary. "Since the four-time world champion was on the track himself, he stopped briefly next to the wrecked Norris car and inquired after the well-being of the youngster. Shortly afterwards he drove on.
"That gave me a scare and reminds us of what happened here two years ago," said Charles Leclerc at Sky. The Ferrari driver recalled the fatal accident of his friend Anthoine Hubert, who died in an accident in the Formula 2 junior series at almost the same point at the end of August 2019. At the time, however, it was a serious collision.