Verstappen Slams Delayed Start at Rainy Belgian GP
So, the Belgian Grand Prix this past weekend gave us a little bit of everything—intensity, drama, and a whole lot of weather. But what really stirred up conversation was the delay to the race start due to wet conditions, and Max Verstappen had plenty to say about it.
The start of the race was pushed back by nearly an hour and twenty minutes because rain swept into Spa-Francorchamps right before the lights were supposed to go out. Now, this track is legendary for its speed and complexity, but it's also notorious for being dangerous—especially in wet conditions. And let’s not forget, Spa has been the scene of two recent tragedies: Anthoine Hubert in 2019 and Dilano van ’t Hoff in 2023. So, when the FIA chose to delay things for safety, many felt it was justified.
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But Max Verstappen didn’t see it that way. He was clearly frustrated with the FIA’s decision, calling it unnecessary and even a “shame for everyone.” He argued that it wasn’t even raining when the race should’ve started, and claimed that if they had just done a few laps behind the safety car, the track would’ve cleared up enough to race. According to him, between Turn 1 and Turn 5 there was water, but the rest of the circuit was fine. He made it clear—he thought the race should’ve started right at 3pm.
However, not everyone agreed with him. George Russell, who’s also a director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, took a different stance. He said that racing under those conditions would’ve been “stupidity,” especially at Spa where visibility in the spray is virtually zero when you're going over 200 mph. To him, it wasn’t about being brave—it was about being safe. Even Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc backed the FIA’s cautious approach.
Interestingly, Lewis Hamilton chimed in too, siding with Verstappen. Hamilton said his car had been set up for the wet and that the delay gave the track time to dry, taking away any potential advantage. He ended up finishing seventh, having started from the pit lane, after making a perfectly timed switch to slick tyres.
At the end of the day, the race did happen, and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri took the win with an early overtake on Lando Norris. But the debate over how F1 handles wet weather isn’t going anywhere. Verstappen made a bold point—that modern F1 might be losing the thrill of classic wet races. Whether you agree or not, it definitely opened up the conversation about where the line is between safety and spectacle in today’s Formula One.
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