Verstappen ‘wins’ washed out Belgian Grand Prix

29/08/2021

Max Verstappen was declared the winner of the Belgian Grand Prix after the race was aborted because of heavy rain.

Behind the safety car, only two-and-a-half laps of the scheduled 44 were completed as the FIA continually delayed the race in the hope that the weather conditions would improve.

It means that the drivers finished based on how they lined up on the grid, with George Russell taking his first ever podium in F1 for Williams and the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton finishing third.

However, since drivers completed more than two laps but less than 75% of the race, only half points were awarded per Formula One regulations. It means that Verstappen sits three points behind Hamilton at the top of the championship instead of two in front.

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The correct decision to cancel – but questions over the FIA

Having completed the formation lap behind the safety car before the race was red flagged, and then completing two more laps behind the safety car three hours later, the drivers were in unanimous agreement that it was the correct decision to cancel the race.

The problem, as Hamilton explained, was with visibility, water on the track causing excessive spray from the car in front meaning that “you couldn’t really see – five metres in front of you the car disappears.”

Such a problem would make racing at any track difficult, but it was exacerbated by being in Belgium, the demanding Spa-Francorchamps circuit producing several dangerous accidents in recent years, including a big crash for McLaren’s Lando Norris in the wet qualifying on Saturday and the fatal crash that killed F2 driver Anthoine Hubert in 2019.

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Race Director Michael Masi and his FIA colleagues were therefore right to abort the race.

The problem was how they came to the decision. The conditions did not change in the three-hours after the drivers were first sent out, meaning that it appeared as though the FIA were sending them out again purely to ensure they completed the requisite number of laps to have the event classified as a race and award points. Indeed, the fact the race was red flagged after these two laps were completed supports this argument.

The drivers themselves questioned the decision to go out again, with Hamilton saying that the FIA “knew when they sent us out at the end there that the track wasn’t any better, and they did so that we could start two laps behind the safety car which is the minimum requirement for a race.” He later added to his comments, saying that “money talks. The two laps to start the race was all a money scenario” because it meant the event could be classified as a race, fulfilling contractual obligations and making it unlikely for the fans to receive refunds.

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Alpine driver Fernando Alonso was similarly vocal in his criticism of the awarding of points, calling the decision “shocking. I’m P11 – the first idiot, in a way. I was not allowed to fight for points, but they gave the points. It makes no sense.”

Masi clarified that the FIA sent the drivers out again “to see what the conditions were like. We were in constant contact with our official weather provider, and there was a window that looked [suitable].”

“A number of the teams have said the same thing. They saw that window and could see exactly what we were trying to do to find that weather window. But then we came in and the weather got the best of us again.”

Whether there was a window or whether the FIA knew it was impossible to race, the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix will go down in history. At just over 14km, it is the shortest ever, beating the 53km completed at the 1991 Australian Grand Prix.

It also produced a fantastic result for Williams and George Russell, the Brit taking his first ever podium in the sport and the first for Williams since Lance Stroll in Azerbaijan in 2017 after his magnificent lap in qualifying on Saturday.

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Post-race interviews:

Max Verstappen – “It’s a big shame not to do proper laps but the conditions were very tricky out there. It’s a win, but it’s not how you want to win.”

George Russell – “We don’t often get rewarded for [our] great qualifying but we absolutely did today.”

“It’s a shame we couldn’t get this result underway, but from the team’s side it’s just an amazing result.”

Lewis Hamilton – “The fans have been incredibly today, to stick with us this whole time and hold out for a potential race.”

“They knew when they sent us out at the end that the track wasn’t any better and they did it just so that we could start two laps behind the safety car which is the minimum requirement for a race.”

“It’s a shame because of course I wanted to race and it could have been a great race if it hadn’t rained so hard.”