At Red Bull, they were not happy with the race management after the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday. They decided to postpone the race for a long time, until the track started to dry up. Max Verstappen had bet on rain with his setup, but could not take advantage of it.
“We need to double-check the weather forecast again,” said the reigning world champion on Saturday after his sprint race victory. He achieved this thanks to one of the smaller rear wings in the Red Bull arsenal on the car.
With a wet Sunday in mind, the mechanics screwed a larger version onto Verstappen’s RB21 for more downforce. A choice fully committed to rain, he confirmed after qualifying when asked. “Otherwise I wouldn’t have done it.”
The choice would have paid off if the race at Spa-Francorchamps had actually started at 3:00 PM. Eighty minutes, two showers, a red flag, and a long wait in the pit lane later, the race finally started, on a track that quickly began to show dry spots. That proved fatal to Verstappen’s chances of a podium finish.
‘This was nonsense’
The Limburger was not happy with race director Rui Marques. “After the rain race in Silverstone, we had discussions that it could be a bit more cautious sometimes, but this was too extreme for me,” he said about the long postponement. “I expected them to be careful, but this was nonsense.”
Verstappen knew that he would not be able to keep up with the fast McLarens anyway, but had set himself the goal of getting on the podium. Now Charles Leclerc was there, who had not fully committed to rain and was able to easily keep Verstappen behind him with a higher top speed.
‘You’ll never see those classic rain races again’
“We made a choice with our setup, but they only allow us to race in conditions that are almost good for slicks,” Verstappen grumbled.
“That is disappointing for everyone. Just say that it is better to wait until it is completely dry. Because this is not rain racing. You’ll never see those classic rain races again. And I think that is still possible. The shower that came later could also have been dealt with if we had just kept driving.”
“The official reading from the FIA was that there was too little visibility reported by the drivers. Formula 1 cars throw up large amounts of spray with their large tires and aerodynamic shape, which lingers. Accidents such as that of the Dutch talent Dilano van ‘t Hoff in 2023 are undoubtedly still in the back of their minds. That happened in very heavy conditions, wetter than last Sunday at Spa-Francorchamps.”
“Possibly that has something to do with it,” Verstappen judged. Yet he had little regard for complaints about visibility from the cars of his competitors. “If you keep driving, it gets better. And if you can’t see anything, you can always take your foot off the gas. Then you will eventually see something again.”
The answer to the question of when the race should have started was therefore easy to guess. “Just, directly at 3:00 PM. It wasn’t even raining. Only from turn 1 to turn 5 was it difficult, but with two laps behind the safety car it would have been possible. The rest of the circuit was already ready for it then. You make all decisions based on the fact that we are going to drive in the rain. This ruins the whole race.”