Max Verstappen 'wins' farcical Belgian GP, Hamilton frustrated by FIA

The FIA tried to do all they could to ensure some sort of racing action but the drenched Spa circuit was just too dangerous.

A rain-soaked Spa circuit during the 2021 Belgian GP. (Image: Twitter/F1)
By Nilavro Ghosh | Aug 30, 2021 | 3 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Fans at the Spa-Francorchamps might have hoped for an exhilarating restart to the 2021 Formula One (F1) season but were left wanting their money back. An incredible race was lined up. The usual suspects at the front of the grid were not there for the most part. While Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull driver were starting from first and third respectively, the rest of the top five consisted of drivers that usually do not start from that kind of a position. Williams driver George Rusell was second on the grid while McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo and Aston Martin driver Sebastian Vettel made up the fourth and fifth places.

Dark clouds enveloped the circuit for the Belgian Grand Prix and the rain was relentless. The track was absolutely soaked with the spray from the cars ranging to almost 100 metres behind. Saying that visibility was impaired would be an understatement, such were the conditions. The FIA tried to do all they could to ensure some sort of racing action but it was just too dangerous. The race finishes ultimately had to be decided on the drivers’ performance in qualifying. Verstappen, therefore, won the race with Russell coming second and Hamilton in third.

HAMILTON LETS LOOSE AGAINST FIA

The drivers were definitely not best pleased about the outcome of the day. Hamilton was especially irritated as he did not hold back in the press conference after the race was cancelled. “Money talks. And it was literally, the two laps to start the race, it’s all money scenario,” he said. “So everyone gets their money and I think the fans should get theirs back too because unfortunately, they didn’t get to see what they came and paid for. There was no point at which we could race, so there wasn’t a race. But there is a rule that says to get to a legal race is two laps. So we did two laps behind a safety car. That activates a bunch of things. My biggest concern is that the fans should get their money back I think and I don’t know if by doing those two laps means they don’t. We have better values than that as a sport,” he added. It was a scathing statement against the FIA by the seven-time world champion, many would argue which to be fair.

FIA INDECSIVENESS FRUSTRATING

The track was being constantly monitored by the FIA, but at the end of the day, if there was no race, the sponsors would not be happy. That would mean a financial setback for the body. After a three-hour wait after the first red flag, it was becoming clear that the weather was not going to let up. However, the FIA shied away from announcing an abandoned race and made fans, drivers, and teams wait further, only to cancel the event in the end. All in all, it was an extremely frustrating afternoon at Spa for pretty much everyone involved.

The next race on the calendar is the Dutch GP, the second home race for title challenger Verstappen. Red Bull and he will be expecting nothing short of a win as Verstappen is now only three points behind Hamilton at the top of the Championship table.





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