Looking back on the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix orange smoke, and plenty of it too, undeniably spectacular and adding to the buzz of the first laps, how safe is it for drivers engulfed in the cloud as they were at Red Bull Ring.
The start of the race on Sunday, coincided by design with an explosion of flares around the circuit, billowing thick plumes driven by the whim of winds made it, at times, almost impossible to see the cars, not only from the grandstands where the fumes had root but also on the TV.
Granted trackside TV cameras, with telephoto lenses, tend to exaggerate the thickness of the 'fog' hence the orange haze that the smoke caused for several laps after the start before it dissipated into the air around.
This is of course not unique to Red Bull Ring, Max Verstappen's Orange Army is well known to take up chunks of trackside real estate to support their driver wherever he races in Europe. Some 50,000 are said to have made the trip from Holland for the race weekend in Spielberg.
Similar scenes are common at Spa-Francorchamps, Budapest and of course Zandvoort
Best placed for feedback on the smoke are the top three finishers in Austria, race-winner Charles Leclerc said on Sunday: "The formation lap was quite a lot but yeah, but nothing too bad. I mean, you could still see so it was fine."
Third-placed Hamilton added: "I would say the same. Just on the formation lap, you couldn’t see the apex of Turn 7, and at the end of the race, you couldn't see anything through Turn 6!
"So, fortunately, it wasn't necessarily the case during the race but maybe they should just save them more so for the end? Yeah. I can't believe they're already good environmentally either. So…"
However, the culprits lobbing the smoking canisters over the fence trying to reach the track took the spectacle a tad too far, the intent to disrupt clear suggesting tightening up of security during early stages of a race and towards the end, pretty much as in stadiums when more security file in for those aggro-packed times.
A canister hitting a car, or in the middle of the track as the field trundles through does not make for pleasant thoughts.
Verstappen: Don't throw flares onto the track!
Verstappen, at who the adulation is directed, appreciated the support but slammed the troublemakers who marred the weekend: "It was incredible to receive the support I did from the fans this weekend.
"But I’ve been hearing a few shocking things. It’s clearly wrong and what’s been happening is not right at all - I shouldn’t need to say this on a weekend that should be a celebration of F1 at our home race," declared the reigning World Champion.
Verstappen did however highlight the potential dangers of the smoke: "I saw one flare, like they threw it onto the track or into the grass. I think that's the only thing they shouldn't do but as long as you keep it on the grandstand."
Which suggests the grandstands (perhaps even campsites) need more undercover security or police to identify the scoundrels and quickly eject them, while ensuring the smoke flares remain controlled while making easy to spot any spectator who tries to lob one onto the track or trackside. CCTV spring to mind.
Irresponsible and simply nasty actions such as those, with malice intended, should be dealt with zero tolerance and automatic life bans as football did decades ago to resolve the hooligan problem.
But smoke flares, used with good intention add to the atmosphere and grandeur of Grand Prix weekend, while supporting a truly remarkable race driver in Verstappen, it would be a shame that a selfish few try spoil it for the majority, including their own driver who deserves better.
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