Saturday August 31st, 2002
The FIA will remove on-track advertisements at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit after the Grand Prix Drivers Association (GPDA) complained of the hazards these pose, especially in wet conditions.
FIA delegate Charlie Whiting, who met with the drivers yesterday at Spa, agreed to the drivers' request to remove these ads - although an FIA spokesman told Atlas F1 no time frame has been set yet.
Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher, who clinched pole position for tomorrow's race, expressed his concerns about the possible problems that the on-track ads could cause, especially on a wet track.
"It is a circuit which traditionally can have wet circumstances and to have wet circumstances on paint is very slippery and on a straight I don't really see the point," said Schumacher. "There is plenty of space next to the circuit, it doesn't need to be on the circuit.
"The problem is if it is going to be in one place it is going to be in all the places in future and we know in Monte Carlo the zebra crossing stripes are very slippery and I don't see any reason for that to be.
"It is not only me, it is us drivers, we feel unhappy about it and we sort of asked to move it away."
Published at 14:16:03 GMT