Max Verstappen wins rained out Belgian GP: 'Not how you want to win'

Published on 29 August 2021 by Kees-Jan Koster

Max Verstappen won the completely rained out Belgian Grand Prix. It could hardly be called a race, as the cars only did three laps behind the Safety Car before the race was red flagged. It meant this was the shortest Grand Prix ever. It was not difficult for Max to turn his pole position into a race win. George Russell, who surprisingly qualified second yesterday, took second place and earned his first podium in his Formula 1 career, while Hamilton finished third. As less than 75% of the race was driven, only half of the championship points were awarded and Verstappen reduced the gap to Hamilton in the championship with five points.

Before he goes up on the podium, Max says about his victory: “In hindsight it was very important to take pole, but it was a shame to not properly race. The conditions were very tricky. I said at 3:30 let's go, the conditions were decent then, but the visibility behind me was very low. If we started at 3 we would have had a better chance, but after that it just became really wet and it kept raining. It is a win, but not how you want to win.”

The victory for Max and the Red Bull Racing team bodes well for the rest of the season: “We had two races with very few points, so this is a result we needed. We were competitive the whole weekend and that is very important at a circuit like Spa with long straights. Next we are off to Zandvoort, this is new for everyone and we will have to see how we will perform. We have to keep pushing to try and retake the lead in both championships, we still have quite a few races to do that. I am confident we have a good car and we have to continually try to get more performance out of it.”

Finally Max thanks the many tens of thousands of soaking wet fans at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit: “Big credit to all the fans around the track, who stayed all day in these rainy and cold conditions. They are actually the bigger winners today.”

Like on Saturday, it rained almost continually at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit on Sunday, causing the track to be soaking wet. Half an hour before the race, as the drivers were on their way to the grid, Sergio Perez loses control over his Red Bull Racing RB16B at the Les Combes chicane. The Mexican hits the tyre barrier hard and damages his front suspension. Perez is not able to continue and is seemingly out of the race.

Because of the bad weather the start of the race is delayed. Even though it continues to rain, the race director decides after a delay of 25 minutes to start the formation lap. After two laps behind the Safety Car the decision is made to delay the start because of the wet track and the low visibility because of the spray. All drivers return to the pit lane and step out of their cars.

Meanwhile the damaged car of Perez is returned to the pits and the Red Bull mechanics are busy to repair the car. After more than an hour the car is fixed and Perez can take part in the race. What follows is an endless period of waiting before the decision is made three hours and fifteen minutes after the scheduled starting time to restart the race. There is only one hour left of the maximum race time.

Three laps are driven behind the Safety Car on the soaking wet circuit before the red flag is waved and the race is stopped. All drivers return to the pits. Verstappen is in the lead, behind him George Russell and Lewis Hamilton. As after a short wait the weather circumstances are not changing it is decided to end the race. Max scores his sixth victory of the season. Russell takes an excellent second place and the first podium finish in his career, while Hamilton completes the podium. Danial Ricciardo finishes fourth, with behind him Sebastian Vettel in P5. Pierre Gasly finished sixth, while Esteban Ocon, Charles Leclerc, Nicholas Latifi and Carlos Sainz complete the top ten. As only three laps were driven, only half points are awarded. Verstappen reduced the gap to Hamilton in the championship to three points.

Results Grand Prix Belgium: