The Belgian Grand Prix is a scene of all kinds of races, and all sorts of racing emotions – wet thrillers, tense dry races, boring processions, dramatic failures, controversial penalties, tragic incidents.
When the rain started falling on Saturday night – set for the next 18 hours of big spell, it felt like the classic venue could offer one of the above once more.
The Formula 3 race was so bad that as the rain eased and the situation improved, the F2 feature started on time and managed to run cleanly with the spins and food stalls.
Just before the pit lane opened, the sun came out and the truck dries significantly. A steady rain was then reduced the first formation lap behind the safety car when the starting procedure was stopped.
The driver reported poor visibility, but stopping the procedure meant another heavy rain band had soaked the track, with the final result being a 90 minute delay between the initial start time and Randnoris actually putting his legs down to progress the race on a track that dries quickly.
That reboot occurred four more laps behind the safety car, with the first two showing that there was a significant amount of spray, even when the sun was out and it seemed relatively dry to the naked eye. It uses ground effects for most of its performance, and is the nature of current F1 cars, featuring a rear wing designed to send dirty air upwards.
Many fans watching at home – and undoubtedly many of the grandstands were frustrated with waiting for action, and they weren’t alone.
“At 3 o’clock, right away (the race should have started),” Max Verstappen said. “It wasn’t even raining, and of course there was quite a bit of water between turns 1 and 5, but it would have been more clear after a few laps behind the safety car. The rest of the track was… ready.
“That’s a bit disappointing. Of course I knew I would be a little more careful after Silverstone, but this didn’t make any sense either.
“There was only a few laps between turns 1 and 5 (poor visibility), and the more you run, the better it gets. If you can’t see, you can lift it at any time.
There is always a vested interest in problematic race control. Lando Norris suggested that the visibility was poor on the early formation laps, and later referred to the water in the pits to ensure a rolling start in the best conditions for himself as a leader.
He had a rainy weather setup, so it’s easy to understand, like Verstappen’s approval that he wanted to go to the race early.
Certainly, drivers can choose to race and drive within limits regardless of the rain, but that doesn’t change what anyone currently has no control – spray. Mark Thompson/Getty Images
“I think that’s a bit disappointing for everyone,” Verstappen said. “You won’t see these classic kinds of wet lace anymore. I think that can still happen. If we keep on laps anyway, I think the rain that fell afterwards is still easy to manage.
“You make all your decisions based on wet races, so that ruins your entire race a bit. But I would have been the best P3 possible.
These vested benefits cloud the cloud whether the right decisions are made at the right time or not. F2 driver Anthone Hubert was killed in a T-Bone collision at the top of Raidillon – partly because the driver is unseemly at the top – and the death of Dilano Van’T Hoff in a wet Freca race two years ago shows that recent enough events can increase the risk. Essentially, that’s what each driver considers as too risky at any given time, and Verstappen’s comments were not placed directly on him, but George Russell had a different view that he would choose to race with a lower vision when there was a clear chance of getting a full race with a longer delay.
“I mean, as a racer, you always want to start,” Russell said. “You love to drive in the rain. But in reality, when you’re over 200 mph from Oak Rouge, you might literally be unable to see anything and be blindfolded.
“(It’s not a race); it’s just stupidity. I think they made the right phone call, considering it clearly dries after 4pm.”
Charles Leclerc was a little more present on the fence, but he had a strong argument that it’s better to worry about being a little too late than a little too early.
“I think it’s always a tweak,” Leclair said. “I don’t think you can forget that on a truck like this that’s something that’s happened historically. So I’m safer than too early. It’s a constant debate and probably feed those who have retreated this decision.
Oscar Piastri also claimed that the driver asked the FIA to play more safely in Spa Franco Champ in such conditions. Whether you agree with Verstappen and feel it is worth taking more risks, or if you feel that it’s best to make a mistake on the more cautious side, the underlying cause is that it needs to be addressed.
Everyone wants to see the race in the rain. That is what separates the best drivers and offers special outcome opportunities. Look at Nico Halkenberg’s results before the race at Silverstone.
It was the visibility, not the grip level, that led to the mass of delay in the spa. It was the amount of spray created by the F1 vehicle and the direction of that spray. If we can reduce that, the race could take place in wider conditions.
In 2026, we need to make sure that the downforce levels of new generation cars drop, but as they are being developed, we may end up in a similar situation. The FIA is doing research into reducing sprays, and one of the biggest arts of racing is because visibility is overlooked when it prevents drivers from showing their skills.