Berlin, Aug. 30, (dpa/GNA) – Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won the Belgian Formula One Grand Prix, but even he knows he cannot really call it a victory.
He started on pole but with rain and low cloud making visibility almost impossible, F1 waited to see if the situation would improve.
Eventually race control sent the cars out for just two laps behind the safety car – enough to constitute a race with half points awarded. It was the shortest F1 race in history.
Verstappen moved to within three points of championship leader Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes, who was classified third behind Williams’ George Russell.
“It is always good to win and the points are important but it is not how anyone wants to do it,” Verstappen said.
“In hindsight it was very important to get pole and although it’s a big shame not to do some proper racing laps, as I really love coming to this track, it was just impossible in these conditions.”
Verstappen has had his fair share of bad luck this season so may feel he was due some fortune. But other drivers were much more damning as F1 again had a public relations meltdown.
Seven-times world champion Hamilton called it a “farce”, adding on Instagram: “We should have called it quits, not risked drivers and most importantly refunded fans who are the heart of our sport.”
Veterans Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso did not like what they saw at Spa, one of the sport’s most iconic tracks.
German four-time champion Vettel said the awarding of half points felt “really odd.”
The Aston Martin driver, fifth, told reporters: “It obviously was no race so we should not have any points.”
Double world champion Alonso said: “For some of them it was a little bit of an early Christmas because there were some gifts given with some people, because we didn’t race but you still get the position and the points. It is a little bit shocking.”
The Alpine driver was in 11th, but never got to fight for points with no overtaking allowed behind the safety car.
Race director Michael Masi defended the situation, saying the plan had not been to just do the two laps – coincidentally enough in the rules to make the event valid.
The cars went out “to see what the conditions were like” in the hope there was a brighter window in the weather which turned out not to be the case.
“There’s no ability to postpone the race,” he added, amid speculation it could have been moved to Monday.
F1 returns next weekend in the Netherlands when all hope for better weather and less controversy in Verstappen’s home race.
GNA