© Jiri Krenek for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
By Carol M. Creasey
Formula One returned this weekend with a rainy weather forecast for Spa. However, while it was wet in Friday’s first free practice, FP2 was thankfully dry. Valtteri Bottas led the morning session, with Max Verstappen second. Sir Lewis Hamilton could only manage eighteenth place after his hot lap had to be abandoned due to traffic.
During second practice, Verstappen managed to top the sheets before crashing out into the tyre wall. Bottas was next, and then the Briton, with only 0.072 seconds between them all. After Verstappen’s crash, the red flag came out, and the session ended. Red Bull’s engineers had quite a job ahead of them to mend his damaged car before third practice on Saturday morning.
In third practice Lewis was in P3 and Valtteri in P11. The weather did not improve for qualifying, and it veered between heavy rain, showers, and then no rain. Mercedes had set up their car for a dry race, which made it a bit more tricky to handle in varying weather conditions.
Lando Norris was impressing everyone with his fast times and seemed destined for pole position until his car aquaplaned, then spun several times before hitting the tyre wall at high speed. He managed to get out luckily, and was taken to a medical centre for a precautionary check, and an x-ray, but was later cleared to race the next day. It’s always a relief to know a driver is ok after such an impact, and what impressed me the most was the fact that he made little fuss about it. He is only 21 years old, yet acts with dignity and maturity.
I was also impressed with the fact that Sebastian Vettel asked for a red flag because it was dangerous, and sadly he was proven right. He also was first on the scene when Lando crashed, checking that he was ok.
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In Q3, Lewis was on provisional pole, but by his own admission, he couldn’t get his tyres warmed up for his second run. He ended up third, with Verstappen taking pole, and George Russell second. Lewis congratulated them both afterwards, and for George, who is not in the fastest car by any means, it was an incredible accomplishment. Afterwards Lewis stated that he was still hoping to do a good race, especially if it was dry, but unfortunately Mother Nature had something else entirely in store.
On Sunday it rained relentlessly, and this time it was the turn of Sergio Perez to crash his car on the way to the grid. It was presumed he would not be able to race, but Red Bull has once again had to pull out all the stops to mend the cars of both their drivers. Only this time they cannot blame any other team for it.
Unfortunately rain didn’t stop for over two hours, so the drivers and their teams had to wait around whilst the FIA was trying to decide what to do. Lewis had voiced his concern about the fans who were waiting patiently on qualifying day in the rain, and then again on race day.
When the race was eventually started the drivers simply drove round for two laps behind the safety car, nobody had any chance to race or try to overtake anyone, which is the most ridiculous scenario I have ever seen in my years of watching Formula One.
The decision was made by the FIA, and as far as I am concerned it leaves a bad taste in my mouth, because it was dishonest. It is well known the FIA’s 2021 rule changes suited Red Bull, and harmed Mercedes, so it is not a stretch to conclude that they would like another team to end Mercedes’ domination one way or the other. And to add to their favouritism they handed Verstappen the win today by running those two laps. They should have just made it fair by aborting the race and not giving out points to anyone.
I am sure I am not the only fan who is absolutely furious about this. Wins should be earned not gifted, and I hope the FIA will reflect on this, and never do this again! Lewis explained that they were only sent out to do two laps because that is the minimum requirement to be able to call it a grand prix. Sadly, as Lewis said himself, money talks, and I hope that the fans will get their money back. Right now writing this article, I feel totally disillusioned with Formula One and the FIA. I know safety comes first, and because off this they should never have allowed them to do those two laps!
Lewis and all the other drivers except Verstappen agreed that it was too dangerous to drive out there. It’s all very well for the FIA stewards sitting in their warm and dry office, but in the future they should listen to their drivers and not put their lives at risk to fulfil their formalities.
Be sure to follow Carol on Twitter @eagertogo and visit her website www.carolmcreasey.com!
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