Formula 1: Martin Brundle, Anthony Davidson and Naomi Schiff explain how drivers cope with danger

Amid the heightened danger of a wet Spa-Francorchamps circuit hosting the final Grand Prix before Formula 1’s summer break, Sky Sports’ Martin Brundle, Anthony Davidson and Naomi Schiff explained how drivers cope with the risks of their chosen sport.

F1 arrived in Belgium with both physical and metaphorical clouds hanging over the event.

Just four weeks earlier Dilano van ‘t Hoff died in an accident in the Formula Regional European Championship, which occurred in wet conditions that limited visibility for the drivers.

The recency of the fatal accident and a forecast of rain for much of the weekend meant the topic of safety dominated the pre-Grand Prix media day, with Mercedes driver George Russell, who is a director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, calling on the FIA to make “bold decisions” to protect the drivers.

When heavy rain fell on Friday and Saturday, race director Niels Wittich heeded the drivers’ calls for a cautious approach, allowing the track to dry out significantly before resuming sessions.

Spa poses particular issues due to the characteristics of the track and its surroundings, but F1’s latest generation of ground effect cars and the spray they leave in their trail in wet conditions is an issue the FIA is attempting to address.

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Highlights of the Belgian Grand Prix from Spa.

Mudguards on the rear wheels were trialled after the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in July, but did not have a significant impact.

The sport as a whole, and the high-speed Spa in particular, remains dangerous in dry conditions, as was proven by French driver Anthoine Hubert’s death in a 2019 F2 race at the circuit.

In addition to the debate over the safety of wet conditions, there have also been suggestions that the layout at Spa needs to change to decrease the speed on the approach to the circuit’s iconic Eau Rouge corner.

While the weekend thankfully passed without incident or harm to any driver, the tense situation left
Sky Sports F1‘s trio of former drivers to reflect on how they dealt with the danger during their days in the cockpit.

Brundle: You have to accept risks of ‘dangerous business’

Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle, who competed in 12 F1 seasons between 1984 and 1996:

“You just have to accept it, you need to mind manage and realise that you might be injured, paralysed or killed in a racing car, and that’s racing cars of all types of speed.

“It’s a dangerous business when you put a group of cars and competitive people together and reward the top three.

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Martin Brundle shares his most memorable moments from the Belgian Grand Prix

“It’s what it’s all about. The nub of my piece is either you need a 90 degree left-hander at the foot of the hill, or you want fast corners and to have the thrill of this in motorsport and the danger that goes with it.

“But then people get injured and die in other categories in hairpins and chicanes as well, it’s a dangerous business so when you drive the car you need to understand that, and you’re not scared because you’ve mind managed it.

“When you can’t see where you’re going on a rainy day like yesterday, when you push the throttle a little bit harder, you know you still want to do it, when you lift off because you’re scared, you have to get out the car.”

Davidson: The voice of reason got louder with age

Sky Sports F1’s Anthony Davidson, who drove in 24 Grands Prix between 2002 and 2008:

“I don’t expect people sitting at home to be able to empathise with that mind-space that you have to be in when you get into one of these cars, or any car around a circuit of any nature.

Anthony Davidson’s final season in F1 was in 2008

“You’ve done this since a young age – I grew up in karting at eight years old, and you become in many ways immune to the dangers involved along the way. And you are able as an athlete to put that to the back of your mind, not even think about it in fact, once the visor closes.

“That’s a trick for any athlete that is involved in any extreme sport, which I do classify F1 as.

“As I got older, maybe that voice of reason starts to get a little bit louder, and ultimately that’s what pushed me to retirement.

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Highlights of the Sprint from the Belgian GP

“I was more fearful of being slow than crashing or injuring myself, that was my biggest fear of all.

“But you learn the trip hazards along the way, you know on a rainy day, you know in Eau Rouge, you know those are potential pitfalls, and you can mind manage that.

“Reliability comes into play as well, but you’re very good at just blocking it out, but once that voice got a little bit louder, that’s when I knew it was time to stop.”

Schiff: Trusting the people around me was important

Sky Sports F1’s Naomi Schiff most recently competed in the 2019 W Series:

“Every driver is very different and the way they manage things is slightly different, but obviously we understand that although the sport has evolved so much in terms of safety, when you get in the car, ultimately you know that there is a risk that you’re taking. It can go wrong, it is still motorsport, it is still dangerous.

Naomi Schiff drove in the inaugural W Series season in 2019

“But if you’re scared, it’s not what you should be doing. So you can’t get in the car and think about what’s the worst [case-scenario], because then you won’t go fast, and ultimately in this job you need to be fast to have a job.

“You know the risk you’re taking but really you don’t let it play on your mind because then you just can’t do the job.

“For me, I was more concerned when I didn’t trust the team around me. If I knew that I trusted the people around me and that coming to a circuit you could see that the standards are high, the marshals are on it – you feel fine to go and do your thing. If something is going to happen, then you really have become very unlucky.

“But if you know the team around you aren’t doing an adequate job and you know that you’re getting into equipment that is sub-par, then you might be slightly more fearful getting in the car.

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Ted Kravitz is in the paddock as he reviews all the biggest stories from the 2023 Belgian Grand Prix

“I had a brake failure in a car with a team that I didn’t very much trust, and that for me was something that I struggled to deal with. Going forwards, I was always very aware of the people I was working with and I was making sure they were on the things that they were doing, because ultimately that’s what then I needed to reassure myself that when I get to that braking point, the pedal will be there.

“It’s one of those things, you just have to deal with it. You get up, get back on the horse, and you go again.”

Formula 1 returns after the summer break with the Dutch GP and all sessions will be live on Sky Sports F1 from August 25-27. Stream the biggest sporting events with NOW