Was it right for points to be handed out after the Belgium GP?

The Belgian Grand Prix ended in a big fiasco. First, the race was postponed for hours and then they had to drive three laps behind the safety car to come to a result. Should there have been points awarded for this Grand Prix? We asked several editors of the Dutch and English editions of GPblog.

Bram Huisers - Editor GPblog NL

In the end, rules are rules, so from a championship point of view, it makes sense that they would want to hand out points in the end, but it's not entirely fair. There was not a single race lap in which the drivers were able to overtake each other and therefore it is not fair that points were handed out. If the FIA wanted to hand out points they should have let the field go behind the Safety Car.

Because of the crash of Lando Norris on Saturday the FIA will probably have been more careful with the track conditions. It is understandable that they couldn't do a race, but then you shouldn't hand out points. No race is no points. Or take the risk that accidents happen, but then at least you have a race where the drivers have to fight for positions.

Femke Notermans - Editor GPblog NL

In my opinion, no points should have been awarded. I hope that after the Belgian GP the FIA will change the rules, so that at least 50% of the race has to be driven without a Safety Car in order to award points. If the drivers are not allowed to overtake, then it's just not a race.

Especially for the fans present, it is unfair how the FIA acted. To drive two laps after hours of waiting and call that a race with points is unfair.

Matt Gretton - Editor-in-Chief GPblog UK

It's a tricky situation and you can look at it in different ways. The drivers got their positions on merit. Qualifying took place as normal, albeit in the wet, and for any driver frustrated they didn't score more points can look at their performance on Saturday. Except for Sergio Perez who literally binned points on Sunday. But really, it's ridiculous that points were awarded. The FIA, F1 and teams need to look at the regulations which the Belgian Grand Prix practically fell between in a number of areas. If there were any cracks in the regulations, this event found them.

The definition of a race: "A competition between vehicles to see which is the fastest in covering a set course." With no overtaking behind the safety car permitted, you cannot call the few laps we saw a competition. To compare this with the points handed out after every other Grand Prix is a shame. Of course, they followed the regulations and that was that. In the future, it's important everyone reviews this. My suggestion would be to ensure those two laps (maybe increase to 10%) are completed under green flag conditions. That way, a race and competition has occurred on the circuit in front of the fans. Any laps behind the safety car aren't added to the tally so we don't see such an empty farce again.

Tim Kraaij - Editor-in-Chief GPblog NL

A scenario like the Belgian Grand Prix should never be allowed to happen again. We have had races in the past where drivers received half of the points, but in all cases, the race was on. This has never been the case at the Belgian GP. Of course, it is nice that drivers are rewarded for their qualification, but you should race on Sunday for points.

F1, FIA and teams should look for a new regulation in which more clarity is given about such a situation. At least a couple of laps should be raced before we start honoring drivers on the podium. For the rest, there should be a clear plan that a race can be finished later, or maybe not be raced at all. The most ideal situation would be if F1 could just run in these kinds of conditions, but that is a bit too much to ask for in the short term.

Joe Tyrrell - Editor GPblog UK 

Formula 1’s desire to complete two laps in order to award points was, to be completely honest, baffling. It made no sense whatsoever. Although it may be harsh on Williams, George Russell, and Max Verstappen, nobody earned any points in Spa. They were awarded them on a technicality and I’m sure none of the drivers wanted to get points like that. Lewis Hamilton was spot on, it was a joke.

The fans were treated to an absolute farce all day long, with information drip-fed throughout the non-event. If the relaying of updates was half as bad as it was through the TV broadcast I can’t begin to imagine what it was like in the crowd. Nothing short of embarrassing. Let’s not forget these fans came out in their masses in the same weather conditions that everyone else had to contest with, all after the most challenging of 12 months. Now I’m not saying the race should have gone ahead just because the fans were there, safety is paramount, but the least the FIA could have done was keep them properly informed. At no point in the day did it ever look like racing would happen, and I believe F1 knew that, so why keep them waiting around in the rain for no reason?

F1 has an issue with attracting new fans and this has done the sport no help. If you are going to isolate and effectively laugh in the faces of your current fans, how do you expect to attract newcomers? The sport is its own worst enemy at times, the FIA needs to be clearer and less indecisive otherwise situations like yesterday will continue to plague Formula 1.