Verstappen and Hamilton unhappy with ‘overcautious' rain delay at Spa
Four-time world champion Verstappen said he believed that instead of suspending the race after one formation lap behind the Safety Car, Race Control should have kept the field out on the track to clear standing water.
'It wasn't even raining,' he said, referring to the decision taken at the scheduled race start time of 1500 local time (1300 GMT).
'Of course, between Turns One and Five, there was quite a bit of water.
'But if you do two or three laps behind the Safety Car, then it would have been a lot more clear -- and the rest of the track was ready to go anyway.
'It's a bit of a shame. I knew that they would be a bit more cautious because of Silverstone, but this also didn't make sense.
'Then, it's better to say 'let's wait until it's completely dry' and we'll start on slicks because this is not really wet weather racing for me.'
Instead of staying out, however, the field were taken back into the pit lane to wait for more than an hour, waiting until improved weather conditions prevailed.
The race then began with a rolling start after four laps behind the Safety Car.
Verstappen finished off the podium for the third consecutive race as series leader Oscar Piastri led team-mate Lando Norris home in a convincing McLaren 1-2.
'Over-reacting'
Ferrari's Hamilton said race organisers had over-reacted after Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli and Alpine's Isack Hadjar collided at Silverstone in poor visibility.
'We started the race a little bit too late, I would say,' he said. ''I kept shouting that 'it's ready to go it's ready to go', but they kept going round and round.
'I think they're probably over-reacting from the last race, where we asked them not to restart the race too early because the visibility was bad.
'This weekend, I think they just went too far the other way. We didn't need a rolling start.'
After a disappointing Saturday when he was twice eliminated in the first part of qualifying, for the sprint race and the Grand Prix, the seven-time world champion responded with a rousing drive through the field from 18th to finish seventh.
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Daily Tribune
13 hours ago
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Verstappen and Hamilton unhappy with ‘overcautious' rain delay at Spa
Multiple world champions Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton both accused race organisers of being overcautious on Sunday when the start of the Belgian Grand Prix was delayed by 80 minutes following heavy rain. Four-time world champion Verstappen said he believed that instead of suspending the race after one formation lap behind the Safety Car, Race Control should have kept the field out on the track to clear standing water. 'It wasn't even raining,' he said, referring to the decision taken at the scheduled race start time of 1500 local time (1300 GMT). 'Of course, between Turns One and Five, there was quite a bit of water. 'But if you do two or three laps behind the Safety Car, then it would have been a lot more clear -- and the rest of the track was ready to go anyway. 'It's a bit of a shame. I knew that they would be a bit more cautious because of Silverstone, but this also didn't make sense. 'Then, it's better to say 'let's wait until it's completely dry' and we'll start on slicks because this is not really wet weather racing for me.' Instead of staying out, however, the field were taken back into the pit lane to wait for more than an hour, waiting until improved weather conditions prevailed. The race then began with a rolling start after four laps behind the Safety Car. Verstappen finished off the podium for the third consecutive race as series leader Oscar Piastri led team-mate Lando Norris home in a convincing McLaren 1-2. 'Over-reacting' Ferrari's Hamilton said race organisers had over-reacted after Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli and Alpine's Isack Hadjar collided at Silverstone in poor visibility. 'We started the race a little bit too late, I would say,' he said. ''I kept shouting that 'it's ready to go it's ready to go', but they kept going round and round. 'I think they're probably over-reacting from the last race, where we asked them not to restart the race too early because the visibility was bad. 'This weekend, I think they just went too far the other way. We didn't need a rolling start.' After a disappointing Saturday when he was twice eliminated in the first part of qualifying, for the sprint race and the Grand Prix, the seven-time world champion responded with a rousing drive through the field from 18th to finish seventh.
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2 days ago
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Piastri Beats Norris in Rain-hit Belgian Grand Prix
Oscar Piastri passed McLaren teammate and title rival Lando Norris with a bold early move to win the rain-delayed Belgian Grand Prix and extend his Formula One lead to 16 points on Sunday. Charles Leclerc was a distant third for Ferrari as reigning champions McLaren celebrated their sixth one-two finish in 13 races and the third in a row. The race at Spa-Francorchamps was red-flagged after an initial formation lap and delayed by an hour and 20 minutes due to the weather, with standing water and heavy spray affecting visibility. Piastri was not in a mood for hanging around when the racing got going with a rolling start after four laps behind the safety car. The Australian charged through the spray to slipstream Norris through the daunting Eau Rouge and scythed past on the uphill straight. 'I knew lap one would be my best chance of winning the race. I got a good exit out of Turn One, lifted as little as I dared out of Eau Rouge,' he said. 'The rest of the race we managed really well. I struggled at the end. Maybe the mediums were not the best for the last five or six laps. We had it mostly under control.' If Norris had a battery issue, the Briton asking over the radio why he had 'no pack' before his race engineer assured him it was coming back, he was not looking for any excuses afterwards. 'Oscar just did a good job. Nothing more to say. Committed a bit more through Eau Rouge, and had the slipstream and got the run,' he said. 'So nothing to complain of. He did a better job in the beginning, and that was it. Nothing more I could do after that point. I would love to be up top, but Oscar deserved it today.' Piastri pitted on lap 12 of 44 to switch from intermediates to medium tyres and Norris followed a lap later, but opting for hards, before both then went to the chequered flag on a one-stop strategy. Piastri crossed the line 3.415 seconds clear of Norris, who had been chasing a third win in a row and managed to reduce the gap in the final laps with putting the ever-calm Australian under too much pressure. Reigning champion and Saturday sprint winner Max Verstappen finished fourth, in Red Bull's first grand prix since the dismissal of team boss Christian Horner, with George Russell fifth for Mercedes. Williams' Alex Albon held off Ferrari's seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton to secure sixth. Liam Lawson was eighth for Racing Bulls with Gabriel Bortoleto ninth for Sauber and Pierre Gasly securing the final point for Alpine. Also read: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2025: Post Malone to Perform at Etihad Park for 17th Edition
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McLaren lock out front row : Belgian Grand Prix
AFP | Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium Lando Norris resisted mounting pressure from his McLaren team-mate and series leader Oscar Piastri yesterday to take pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix. The 25-year-old Briton, whose mother Cisca is Belgian, shrugged aside concerns over his struggles on Friday to clock a best lap in one minute and 40.562 seconds, beating Australian Piastri by 0.085 seconds as McLaren reeled off a convincing front row lock-out. It was his fourth pole this year and the 13th of his career. Charles Leclerc qualified third with a late improved lap enabling him to overhaul defending world champion Max Verstappen's best effort for Red Bull. Alex Albon was fifth for Williams ahead of Mercedes' George Russell, Yuki Tsunoda in the second Red Bull, Racing Bulls' rookies Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson, and Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto. Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton failed to make it out of the Q1 session for Ferrari and will start Sunday's 44-lap race from 16th on the grid in the company of Mercedes' mercurial rookie Kimi Antonelli, who was 18th, and two-time champion Fernando Alonso 19th for Aston Martin. After victories in Austria and Britain, Norris will be seeking a third consecutive win to overhaul Piastri's nine-point lead in the title race. "It was a decent lap and I'm happy," said Norris. "Everyone was a bit worried after yesterday, but I wasn't that far off. There were just a few little issues we had. I was confident that I could get back to the top." Piastri, who had been faster than Norris in Friday's action, said: "It's a bit disappointing. The second lap was coming together well and then I made a mistake into turn 14 and I lost a lot of time. The car was very good again, but it's about fine margins." Leclerc said he was surprised by his time.
