Said Lewis Hamilton: “You couldn’t really see five meters in front of you. It was hard to even see down the straight. You couldn’t go flat out. It’s a shame. I wanted to race.”
SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium—In the history of Grand Prix racing, 24 races have been stopped short because of bad weather. And that’s what happened Sunday afternoon at the Belgian Grand Prix. After nearly a three-hour wait, the decision was made to stop the race after three laps, making the 2021 Belgian GP the shortest race in F1 history.
Points were awarded based on qualifying standings, which gave Max Verstappen the victory and second place to George Russell, who got the first podium of his career. Lewis Hamilton finished third. For the season’s Drivers Championship, Hamilton now leads Verstappen by three points going into next week’s race in the Netherlands.
Max Verstappen: Now, in hindsight, it was important to get the pole position – but it was a shame not to do proper laps. Credit to the fans to stay here all day. In the cold and rain, they are the bigger winners today.
Russell concurred on both counts. “We don’t often get rewarded for a great qualifying, but today we absolutely did. I want to say sorry to the fans. It’s a shame we didn’t get the race underway.” But, unlike Verstappen and Red Bull, finishing on the podium was both unexpected and something to boast about. “For the team and me, it’s an amazing result,” the ebullient Russell exclaimed
When it came to the fans, Hamilton echoed his colleagues’ thoughts. “I feel so very sorry for the fans today,” he declared. “They have been incredible to stick with us. I hope the fans get their money back.” Hamilton also expressed disappointment in not being able to race. “It could’ve been a good race had it not rained,” he said.
Perhaps the luckiest driver on Sunday was Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, who lost control and slammed into the barriers at Les Combes on the formation lap, ruining a chance to continue. But due to the long delay, Red Bull mechanics managed to repair his car, and they finally received approval from the F.I.A. to begin the race from the pit lane.
On a normal level, three hours is about as long a race can be delayed. But with time running out and the rain continuing to be heavy, officials decided to halt the running clock to one hour, which would have given the drivers time to complete the race. But even with the opportunity to finally start the race from the position behind the safety car at 18:17 hours, only two more laps could be completed. And that was good enough to reward the lucky top ten finishers with half points.
Based on qualifying results, Daniel Ricciardo recorded his best-ever McLaren finish by taking fourth place. Sebastian Vettel was fifth in his Aston Martin. Pierre Gasly was sixth in his Alpha Tauri, and fellow Frenchman Esteban Ocon finished seventh in his Alpine. Ferrari scored double points with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. in eighth and tenth, respectively. Nickolas Latifi, in his Williams, took ninth.
Now, Formula 1 travels to the Netherlands and Zandvoort next week, followed by Italy and the Italian Grand Prix a week later. There, a sprint race will be held on Saturday instead of regular qualifying.
