Max Verstappen moan is unfair after F1 race director did what drivers have begged for

Daily Mirror

6 days ago

The Belgian Grand Prix got off to a frustrating start when it was stopped for more than an hour due to heavy rain, sparking a debate over the future of wet-weather racing in Formula 1
The FIA does not get everything right. It is not unfair to suggest that there have been so many blunders in recent years that it can be surprising when the Formula 1 governing body does nail its approach to certain situations.
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But that is exactly what it did at the Belgian Grand Prix. The delay of almost 90 minutes before the start of Sunday's race, for nothing more than rain, was maddening and it is completely understandable that thousands of people all around the world would have been shouting: "Just get on with it," at their televisions.
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After all, wet races are invariably some of the most exciting to watch. It creates extra danger, makes tyre strategy even more decisive and often acts as a performance equaliser, presenting some of the smaller teams who rarely get a chance to challenge at the front with an opportunity to do something special, like Nico Hulkenberg did in his Sauber at Silverstone just a few of weeks ago.
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It is also a chance for the bigger teams and drivers to make a comeback if qualifying didn't quite go their way. Perhaps that was why Max Verstappen, who started fourth on the grid but felt he could have done more, was so frustrated about the decision to abort the race start on the formation lap when visibility because of water spray was deemed to be too poor.
"We should have started miles earlier, an hour earlier," the Red Bull racer fumed after the Grand Prix, with the hindsight of knowing that there were no dangerous crashes on the drier track. "A bit of a shame. They took a very cautious approach which we spoke about after Silverstone, to be a little bit more cautious. But, for me, this was then the other extreme. It just ruined a nice, classic wet race."
He is right to suggest that it would probably have been an action-packed and entertaining race if they had started on time. More heavy rain fell not long after the planned start time which would surely have forced all cars onto extreme wet tyres and probably would have led to some carnage.
But can entertainment really be used as an excuse for accepting extra risk? That is a debatable point because, as many people will point out, all F1 drivers accept that what they do is dangerous and that, every time they put on their helmet and get strapped into their racing machine, they are putting their lives at risk.
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If there is one place where fate should not be tempted, though, it is Spa-Francorchamps. Motorsport has a much better safety record these days compared to decades gone by, but that circuit in the Ardennes Forest remains treacherous. Anthoine Hubert was killed in a Formula 2 crash in 2019 and, just two years ago, 18-year-old Dilano van 't Hoff died in a Formula Regional race there.
Many people will have made the point that, on Sunday, all cars on the F1 formation lap were on intermediate tyres and so they could have gone onto the extreme wets for more grip, but traction was never the issue. It was all about visibility and even Lando Norris, at the front of the pack and behind only the safety car, was having trouble seeing anything through the spray.
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He and several other drivers reported that over the radio, which was heard not only by their teams but also race control. Rui Marques, the F1 race director appointed by the FIA, then decided to abort the starting procedure and red-flag the track, commanding all cars to return to the pit lane.
Was he being overly cautious? Perhaps, but it would be impossible to reasonably blame him. He has been in that role for less than a year, and would have been held ultimately responsible for sending 20 drivers out onto the track with zero visibility, if the worst should have happened.
Plus, as mentioned, most of the drivers out there on track had been voicing their concern about the lack of visibility. F1 stars have been begging for some time for the FIA to consult them more when making decisions, which is exactly what Marques did in this case.
His decision to wait out the worst of the rain led to a lot of standing around and waiting, and zero racing action for well over an hour. As disappointing as that was, it sure beats the prospect of a life-threatening crash at a circuit which has far too much recent history on that front. So maybe, Max, it's worth cutting race control a bit more slack next time. Because that "very cautious" approach might have saved lives.