Max Verstappen warns F1 is losing ‘classic’ wet races after Spa delays

Max Verstappen has warned that F1 is at risk of losing its iconic wet-weather races after a delayed start to the Belgian Grand Prix prevented drivers from racing in full wet conditions.

The start of Sunday’s race at Spa-Francorchamps was delayed by 80 minutes due to heavy rain.

The race started with a formation lap behind the Safety Car but was soon red-flagged.

It wasn’t raining at the time, but several drivers complained about poor visibility.

Verstappen was disgruntled by the FIA’s decision to delay the race, saying over team radio: “Well that’s a bit silly, I mean, you should just run a few laps, jesus.

“They’re way too cautious, now the heavy rain is coming, and then it’s gonna be a 3 hour delay.”

Once the race got back underway, the FIA adopted a cautious approach, running several laps behind the Safety Car.

By the time the race got underway, the track wasn’t far away from being dry.

Speaking to the media at Spa after the race, Verstappen felt the race officials were too cautious.

“3 o’clock straight away. It wasn’t even raining,” Verstappen replied when he was asked when the race should have started.

“Between Turn 1 and 5 there was quite a bit of water but if you do two, three laps behind the Safety Car it would have been a lot more clear and the rest of the track was ready to go. It’s a bit of a shame. I knew they would be a bit more cautious after Silverstone but it also didn’t make sense.

“It’s better to say let’s wait until it’s completely dry and we start on the slicks because it’s not really wet weather racing for me.”

Verstappen also warned that fans will not get to see classic F1 races in wet conditions due to the FIA’s approach.

The Dutchman acknowledged that tragic accidents at the Belgian circuits over the years could have been a key reason for the delays.

“Yeah, potentially. Of course at the end of the day they do what they want, right? I mean, they decide,” Verstappen explained.

“But I just find it is a bit of a shame for everyone, you will never see these classic kind of wet races anymore then, which, yeah, I think they still can happen. And I think also the rain that fell afterwards was still manageable, if we would have kept lapping anyway. And then you make all the decisions based on wet racing, so then also it just ruins your whole race a bit.”

Verstappen’s setup choice backfires

With heavy rain forecast for the race, Red Bull elected to run Max Verstappen’s car with more downforce.

However, it didn’t pay off as the majority of the grand prix was run in dry conditions.

He ultimately finished fourth, within two seconds of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

“Quite difficult. We made a choice with the setup, but then they only allow us to drive in almost slick conditions,” Verstappen added.

“That’s a bit disappointing. We spoke after Silverstone to be a bit more cautious with the decisions but this was the other extreme for me.

“The choice we made with the setup of the car was then the wrong one as they didn’t allow us to race in the wet.

“Once we got to the dry tyres, we were just too slow on the straights and then with the general balance that I already had with the car, it made everything a bit worse.”