Belgian GP 2021 is an experience best forgotten - and a lesson for F1's future

Coming out of Formula 1’s 2021 summer break, anticipation was running sky high among fans. The title race between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen had been stellar in the first half of the season. The battle between the midfield teams remains too tight to call. And to top it off, the second half of the season began at the iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit. Yet, as things went, the 2021 Belgian GP could not have been a worse experience for fans and the organisers alike. A race that was entirely washed out by rain that saw the completion of two ‘laps’ behind the Safety Car was not what anyone wanted, yet it is all we got.

None of the racers were happy after the event ended – and that’s not even talking about the whole half-points drama. That part was entirely understandable.

What wasn’t, however, was having absolutely no contingency plan in place. And this is despite knowing fully well that rain would cause at least a few interruptions during the day.

Yet if there’s one silver lining to this very wet cloud, it’s that lessons for the future will have no doubt been learnt.

Spare a thought for the camera operator up there! ?#BelgianGP ?? #F1 pic.twitter.com/JaLI8CutKu

— Formula 1 (@F1) August 29, 2021

Rain in Formula 1 is often seen as a great equaliser. With conditions becoming much tougher to drive in, the focus goes back to a driver’s ability rather than just how good or bad the car is.

It’s why, over the years, rainy races have seen many unexpected winners. It’s also why racers who can consistently win in the rain are regarded extremely highly.

However, there was just one problem with the rain at Spa – it was far too much.

After Belgian GP farce, Reserve days the way forward?

F1 has moved on from the days of starting races in heavy rains. Nowadays, with driver safety being paramount, drivers will not be forced to drive in such conditions.

But that does once again bring the focus back to what can be done to prevent such an experience in the future. Because, while protecting drivers is important, the fact is that fans were left feeling short-charged.

And again, no fan in their right mind expected a full-on race in such conditions. But some forward planning would have prevented the farce they were treated to.

Commentators discussed the idea of coming back to hold the Belgian GP the next day i.e. Monday. That would have been a viable option but for two roadblocks.

The first, of course, being that F1 teams were scheduled to leave the country on Sunday and that there was no actual plan for a reserve day.

The second was that Monday being a working day would have seen a few less fans – and getting marshalls for the race would have also been an issue.

The idea here, therefore, is simple: schedule a reserve day when rain is expected at the track. In today’s day and age, weather forecasts can easily be found with a simple Google search.

F1 teams have better ways of tracking the weather, meaning a planned reserve day isn’t the hardest thing in the world to keep in the schedule.

If no reserve day possible, then what?

The disappointing part of the Belgian GP was that, when drivers were finally allowed to drive, they only did two laps behind the Safety Car. That meant no racing and no overtaking.

The reason for this? F1’s rules state that if at least two laps of the race are completed, then half-points can be awarded for the race. And that is exactly what happened.

Yet for fans, it was the worst end to what was already a drab afternoon. And it will be an incident the sport will be keen to not repeat again.

In the event that a reschedule is not possible, the race organisers should aim to get two laps out of the way as soon as possible. One can argue that’s what happened at Spa but that’s not really true.

When the drivers were sent out to do two laps, conditions had actually worsened from the race’s scheduled start time. The drivers were only allowed out of the pits when it became clear an actual race wouldn’t be possible.

This naturally left not only fans but drivers feeling frustrated, with many drivers actually apologising to fans for the way the day went.

For F1’s sake, they would want Spa 2021 to be the last time a race is marred in this manner. However, in order for that to be the case, they will need to plan better in the future.