DANGER AS IMPORTANT AS SALT IS TO FOOD...

THE unwritten contract between racing drivers and the public is that they get paid millions to do something we couldn’t or wouldn’t. And, as Sir Stirling Moss once said, danger is as important to motor racing as salt is to food. That sentiment was no doubt in many minds yesterday when F1’s cast sat out the Belgian Grand Prix waiting unavailingly for the weather to improve. ‘Safety first’ is the mantra right now. And it is unconscionable to ask young men to risk their lives when the odds are stacked too high. We should remember that this notorious Spa track has proved itself a death trap for 23 men. Last night, I asked McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo why he and his peers do not simply drive only as fast or slow as conditions allow. ‘We could,’ he said. ‘But then the issue is because we are slow, you will have some drivers who do something out of the physical realms of the car and you are going to have a bigger incident because of closing speeds.’ I made the point, I believe, for many millions.