Norbert Haug says he fears there could be more crashes than ever before during this year's Monaco Grand Prix weekend – with the absence of traction control for the first time in almost a decade and the threat of rain spelling potential havoc as 20
Formula 1 drivers do battle around the narrow, tortuous streets of the Principality.
The Mercedes-Benz Motorsport Vice-President told German newspaper
Bild that he was concerned about safety during the event, with cars running mere millimetres away from the circuit's unforgiving barriers and the tight confines traditionally catching out the unwary or those who allow their concentration to slip for even the briefest moment – testing drivers and teams alike to the absolute limit.
“I hope no one gets injured,” Haug underlined, “but we do have to count on numerous safety car phases.
“Before the electronic aids were brought in, there were stoppages every ten minutes. I suppose that with the ban now, crashes are more likely than before.”
1982 world champion Keke Rosberg, meanwhile, agrees that the 2008 edition of the most glamorous race on the
F1 calendar will provide a challenge like few others before it.
“Now there is less margin for error,” asserted the Finn, whose 22-year-old son Nico races for
Williams. “We had longer braking distances and bigger tyres; the cars today are harder to control.”
