Here are the Belgian Grand Prix “race” results and our reaction to the shameful way the FIA helped Max Verstappen close down his gap to Lewis Hamilton in the championship.
The Belgian Grand Prix was stopped immediately after the formation lap due to heavy rain. This led to a two-hour waiting game, while the FIA and race director Michael Masi tried to determine if and when the race could be restarted.
More than two hours after the red flag, while the on-track conditions were even worse than when the race was stopped for the first time, the FIA decided to restart the race under the Safety Car, and after two laps the race was stopped again, this time definitely. The reason why they decided to let this charade go on was because under the rules you need two laps to be able to say the race was held, and with that half points were awarded to the drivers.
With this, Max Verstappen has been declared the winner, and with Lewis Hamilton in P3, the Dutch driver has now closed down his gap in the championship standings to just three points.
It’s absloutely shameful and there’s no hiding the fact that the race was restarted just so Formula 1 can say the race had been held and, as Lewis pointed out, F1 had fulfilled its obligations to sponsor, fans and broadcasting companies. With his “first place” Max has scored five more points than Lewis, and if these points ultimately prove to be crucial in deciding the 2021 championship, it will be a sad state of affairs for everyone involved.
They even went through with “post-race” interviews and the sham podium ceremony, which just made us feel ashamed to be fans of Formula 1. This event and this decision will be talked about for a long time. Shame on you Formula 1, the FIA and everyone involved in today’s decisions.
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Classification
1 Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 2 laps
2 George Russell, Williams, +2.198
3 Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, +3.518
4 Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren, +5.951
5 Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin, +7.894
6 Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri, +10.275
7 Esteban Ocon, Alpine, +11.791
8 Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, +13.217
9 Nicholas Latifi, Williams, +15.634
10 Carlos Sainz, Ferrari, +16.961
11 Fernando Alonso, Alpine, +20.259
12 Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, +21.946
13 Antonio Giovinazzi, Alfa Romeo, +23.530
14 Lando Norris, McLaren, +26.085
15 Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri, +28.781
16 Mick Schumacher, Haas, +30.900
17 Nikita Mazepin, Haas, +32.687
18 Lance Stroll, Aston Martin, +34.838
19 Kimi Raikkonen, Alfa Romeo, +36.322
20 Sergio Perez, Red Bull, +38.690