After a damp qualifying session, it was an unusual starting grid for the FORMULA 1 ROLEX BELGIAN GRAND PRIX 2021. But it was a race that ultimately never happened, with horrific rain delaying the race start for more than 3 hours before it was eventually abandoned. With two laps having been run, it was enough for half points to be awarded to the teams and drivers.
The weather conditions at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps were treacherous, bringing drama before the race even started. Sergio Perez aquaplaned into the barriers in turn 8 on his drive from the pit lane to the grid, putting an premature end to his weekend before the lights had even gone out.
Having waited for a month for summer break to end, fans would need to wait a little longer to see some racing again. With heavy rain, the race start was delayed by 25 minutes before the cars pulled away behind the safety car for two formation laps. The conditions were still too poor to start the race and the safety car brought the field to a stop in the pit lane.
During the lengthy delay, Red Bull was able to repair Sergio Perez’s damaged car. After much debate with the FIA, the stewards allowed Perez to start the race.
The race has a standard 2 hour time limit, but that clock pauses in the event of a red flag. However, there is a 3 hour time limit from the scheduled race start that continues even if the race is stopped. That meant that the race was scheduled to be abandoned at 6:00 local time, however, the FIA stopped the clock at 5:00, waiting for better conditions. This meant that if the race resumed, the race would last for the remaining 1 hour left on the time limit.
The cars went back out on the track at 6:20, 3 hours and 20 minutes past when the race was originally supposed to start. The cars cruised around behind the safety car, with the conditions still as bad as they were at the scheduled 3:00 start time.
The possibility of scoring full points was gone, as it would not have been possible to run 75% of the race distance in the hour that remained. The worst case scenario was to complete at least 2 laps so that half points could be awarded. This was done behind the safety car and the race was red flagged once again, much to the disappointment of the fans who had been camping out in the rain for hours.
Seeing as the Belgian Grand Prix is the first race of a triple header, there was no possibility to try the race again on another day, forcing the sport to sadly abandon the race.
Abandoning the race marked a 16th F1 victory for Max Verstappen and an additional 12.5 points towards his F1 title bid. Lewis Hamilton’s championship lead has been cut down by 5 to just 3 points over Verstappen, finishing on the bottom step of the podium. George Russell earned his first ever podium finish, having qualified in P2. This also mark’s Williams’ first podium finish since the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Fortunately, if all goes to plan, fans won’t need to wait too long to see some racing. The teams and drivers will head off to the Netherlands for the Dutch Grand Prix around the Circuit Zandvoort next weekend. The race on the weekend of September 5, which will be the first Dutch Grand Prix since 1985.
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