Delay in Spa: FIA Prioritizes Safety at the Belgian Grand Prix
The rain, a constant element in the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, was the protagonist in the Belgian Grand Prix. The drivers, waiting in their garages, watched as the race was delayed due to adverse weather conditions. The rain, which began shortly after the cars left the pits, intensified rapidly. The Belgian national anthem was sung in a downpour, although it seemed to subside near the scheduled start time. The accumulation of water on the track and the persistence of the rain, although with less intensity, forced the formation lap to be carried out behind the safety car. Visibility was very limited, according to the drivers.The FIA decided to delay the start, arguing for an improvement in the weather. This decision did not satisfy everyone, including Max Verstappen, who believed the race could have started on time.“I could barely see anything,” Lando Norris commented to his McLaren team. “I can’t imagine how bad it would be for the cars behind.”
Lando Norris
The 90-minute delay between the scheduled start time and the first lap of the race created an atmosphere of waiting in the garages, while the engineers analyzed the weather radars. This delay generated the feeling that F1 missed a potentially epic race, considering the history of Spa and its volatile weather conditions. The improvement in conditions allowed for a race with less drama, although Hamilton starred in an initial advance. Verstappen expressed his disappointment, feeling that the decision had “ruined a good classic wet race”. The incident at Silverstone, where the FIA seemed to react late to the rain, served as a benchmark for the decisions at Spa. Mercedes driver George Russell defended the decision to delay the race, emphasizing the visibility risks in the Eau Rouge section at over 320 km/h. Safety was the priority. During the retransmission, Anthoine Hubert’s mother, who died in an accident in Spa in 2019, was shown a reminder of the risks involved. McLaren team principal Andrea Stella praised the FIA’s management, highlighting the importance of caution on a circuit like Spa. McLaren’s victory, with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, demonstrated that safety, at times, can be the best strategy.“At three…directly,” said Verstappen. “It wasn’t even raining, and of course, between turns 1 and 5 there was quite a bit of water, but if you do two or three laps behind the safety car, then it would be much clearer, and the rest of the track was already ready to race.”
Max Verstappen
