After waiting for about 3 hours and 45 minutes the FIA and Michael Masi finally called off what will go down as one of the strangest and shortest Formula 1 races of all-time. After 2 laps behind the safety car the race was called due to rain and the Belgian Grand Prix was officially over. Max Verstappen, pole sitter after yesterday’s Q3, was declared the winner with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton also getting to the podium finishing in 2nd and 3rd place.
The fans sat out in the cold and rain for hour after hour with hopes it would finally let out and they would be able to see their favorite racers be able to compete. Unfortunately after a couple of attemps to get the cars on the track over the course of the day the rain did not let up and there was no way for the drivers to see anything in front of them. You really got to give it to the fans, who seemed to be having a great time out there dancing to the Macarena and doing the wave, for staying the course. And after the race you heard Lewis Hamilton say he hopes Formula One refunds the fans. He feels sending the safety car out there when they did to try to stop the race was a ploy, and they knew there was no chance of racing. They just wanted to get in the 2 laps so they could call this an official race and end it there.
Sunday was just another race day to add to the crazy Formula One season we are already seeing. We saw Sergio Perez lose control and crash the during a formation lap hours earlier after the first 20 minute rain delay to start the race. We all thought he was retired from the race and his day was over but because the race never officially started, and with the then extended rain delay, Red Bull’s engineers and mechanics were able to get Sergio’s race car back in working condition. Red Bull made a call to the stewards and requested Perez be allowed back into the race and at first was basically laughed at like it was a crazy suggestion and was told “the answers no” by Mr. Masi. But Red Bull kept on him and asked the stewards to take a closer look at the rule book and ultimately Perez was allowed to re-enter the race should it resume. We also had what will now go down as the shortest official Formula One race in History with just 2 laps and only the 11th Formula One race in history where not a single car retired.
Even though the race was only a couple of laps behind the safety car in pouring rain and the drivers could not see 5 feet in front of them and were never actually “racing” one another, they still declared a winner and therefor they are going to have a Podium celebration and spray some of that sweet champagne. I, and a lot of other people all over Social Media, thought this was a little ridiculous to have this whole ceremony since no one actually even raced. But then we saw George Russell come up on stage and get on his 2nd place podium. That was real joy and almost relief. It was the 23 year old stars first podium since joining Williams Racing and he knows it’s not just race day that gets one to a podium. Yesterday’s incredible lap in Q3 propelled Russell all the way to P1 in the final minute of the session with Hamilton/Vettell/Bottas and Verstappen still finishing up their final times. Russell was able to hold onto P1 until the last seconds when Max Verstappen sent his hometown fans home happy narrowly topping Russell’s time and taking pole position. But all the work that the Williams team and Russell put into the entire weekend and preparing for those conditions is what got Russell to P2 and ultimately his firts Podium and a 2nd place finish.
I do think the entire race should have been called and having the cars drive behind a safety car for 2 laps and then declare the race finished is a joke. It makes the decision makers in Formula One look greedy and not really putting the drivers best interest first. Every driver other than Verstappen, who was in the lead with only the safety car in front of him, said it was completely dangerous and they couldn’t see anything. But the race did count and the top 10 finishers will recieve 1/2 the points they would normally recieve for a full race.
Heres how the top 10 shaped out: 1st- Max Verstappen, 12.5 points. 2nd- George Russell, 9 points. 3rd- Lewis Hamilton, 8 points. 4th- Daniel Ricciardo, 6 points. 5th- Sebastian Vettel, 5 points. 6th- Pierre Gasly, 4 points. 7th- Estaban Ocon, 3 points. 8th- Charles Leclerc, 2 points. 9th- Nicholas Latifi, 1 point. 10th- Carlos Sainz Jr, .5 points,
Our next F1 race comes to us live from CM.com Circuit Zandvoort in the Netherlands for the Dutch Grand Prix next Sunday September 5th at 9 am ET. Max Verstappen, who grew up in Belgium but drives under a Dutch licence will once again be racing infront of a home crowd where he hopes to snatch the overall points lead back from Lewis Hamilton in what should be a nice dry race day in the desert.
Great article!