Multiple world champions Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton criticized race officials on Sunday for what they called an overly cautious approach after the start of the Belgian Grand Prix was delayed 80 minutes due to heavy rain.
Verstappen, a four-time world champion, argued that race control made the wrong call by suspending the race after just one formation lap behind the safety car. He believed the field should have remained on track to help disperse standing water.
“It wasn’t even raining,” Verstappen said, referring to the decision to delay the race at the original 3 p.m. local start time (1 p.m. GMT).
“Of course, between Turns One and Five, there was quite a bit of water,” he said. “But if you do two or three laps behind the safety car, then it would have been a lot clearer – and the rest of the track was ready to go anyway.
“It’s a bit of a shame. I knew they would be a bit more cautious because of Silverstone, but this also didn’t make sense.
“Then, it’s better to say, ‘Let’s wait until it’s completely dry,’ and we’ll start on slicks, because this is not really wet weather racing for me.”
Instead of staying out, the field was brought back into the pit lane to wait for more than an hour until conditions improved.
The race eventually began with a rolling start after four laps behind the safety car.
Verstappen finished off the podium for the third straight race as series leader Oscar Piastri led McLaren teammate Lando Norris in a dominant 1-2 finish for the team.
Seven-time world champion Hamilton accused organizers of overreacting, linking their decision to an earlier incident at Silverstone involving Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli and Alpine’s Isack Hadjar, who collided in poor visibility.
“We started the race a little bit too late, I would say,” Hamilton said. “I kept shouting, ‘It’s ready to go, it’s ready to go,’ but they kept going round and round.
“I think they’re probably overreacting from the last race, where we asked them not to restart too early because the visibility was bad.
“This weekend, I think they just went too far the other way. We didn’t need a rolling start.”
After a tough Saturday in which he was twice eliminated in Q1 – during qualifying for both the sprint and main race – Hamilton rebounded with a spirited drive from 18th to finish seventh.
“I always love races like that where you’re challenged and have to make your way through the field,” said the 40-year-old Briton.
“But ultimately, I’m disappointed to have not had such a great weekend – definitely one to forget. At least I’ve still got some points.
“And we outscored Mercedes, but I’ve got to go back – and you can’t always get it right. There are lots of factors that contributed to Friday and Saturday, but ultimately me. Obviously, I recovered a little bit today. Big thanks to the team – I’ll try and come back stronger next week.”
Williams driver Carlos Sainz defended the decision, calling it “a safe call” in light of Spa-Francorchamps' reputation and recent incidents.
“My respect to the race director because he told us after Silverstone – and the accidents at Silverstone – that he would play it safer here, and that’s what he did,” Sainz said.
He acknowledged the race could have started earlier on a different track but said the cautious approach ensured a full 44-lap race.
“On a normal track, yes,” he said. “I think maybe we could have started earlier by five or 10 minutes. But at Spa-Francorchamps, and with the history of the track, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
“You got the whole race. You got to watch the full race. So, I don’t think it was a bad call. A safe call, yes.”
The Spa-Francorchamps circuit has been the site of 53 fatalities, including two in the past six years, many of them in poor weather.
“That’s why it’s better to be safe than to have an accident and be regretful,” added Sainz.
