FIA receives heavy criticism for 'mistakes': 'Deprived fans from a historical race'

The Belgian Grand Prix started with a delay of one and a half hours behind the safety car. Then a rolling start followed, where Lando Norris was overtaken by teammate Oscar Piastri on the Kemmel Straight.

Due to the long wait, the race in the Belgian Ardennes was eventually run under virtually dry conditions, much to the dissatisfaction of Max Verstappen. Olav Mol said on the Ziggo Sport Race Café that he was very disappointed with the FIA's decision.

Not just for himself, but also for the present fans, the Dutchman regrets it. "So, they have deprived us of a potentially historic race. I really regret that. The fans sat there in the pouring rain for an hour and a half. Then they had another hour and a half to dry off. And unfortunately they got yet another race that was worthless."

After the formation lap behind the safety car, the F1 cars were sent back into the pit lane of Spa-Francorchamps under red flag conditions. Only an hour after the original start there came an update with a new start time. According to Mol, many mistakes were made last Sunday.

The oddest thing, according to the Dutchman, is that the teams were not allowed to adjust the cars anymore. Red Bull Racing, among others, had chosen a rain setup after qualifying due to the predicted rain. The Belgian Grand Prix was eventually run under virtually dry conditions.

"So you're also starting a race in which 50% of the field has a half rain setup. Where the Aston Martins have a full rain setup so they start from pitlane. Sainz has a full rain setup. So they also took that away", Mol concluded.