Former German F1 driver Hans-Joachim Stuck has accused the FIA of ‘cheating’ fans of a great show at the Belgian Grand Prix for starting the race behind a pace car.
Stuck was asked by Eurosport whether he felt the FIA should intervene to stop Red Bull’s dominance, to which he replied: “I think that’s totally unfair!”
Instead, the 72-year-old felt the FIA would be better suited to stopping the ‘nonsense’ of starting races behind the safety car.
“It would be much more important for the FIA to organize itself and let such extravagances as the pace car in the rain and such nonsense be. The best racing drivers in the world sit in the cars and a circus like this is held when it rains. Then they just have to drive more slowly when it rains too much,” he said.
“A start behind the pace car… that’s kidding! Formula 1 puts on a great show, and there’s huge interest. After Belgium, however, I also heard from many local acquaintances that they felt cheated – and I have to agree with them in that regard.”