Verstappen gains widespread approval over fundamental Belgian GP decision

19:50, 28 Jul

Updated: 19:51, 28 Jul

byTobia Elia

F1 analyst Peter Windsor also agrees with Max Verstappen that the FIA took a too cautious approach just before the start of the Belgian Grand Prix, when the rain poured down on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.

The race director’s decision to delay the start of the Belgian Grand Prix after the initial formation lap due to rain and poor track visibility became a hot topic of debate following the race.

Many teams, including Red Bull, had opted for a wet setup after the sprint race, aiming to maximize aerodynamic downforce for what was expected to be a race run almost entirely in wet conditions.

Instead, the delayed start of nearly an hour and a half allowed the track to gradually dry, with drivers completing only a few laps on intermediates before the pit stop shuffle for slick tyres began.

A move that certainly impacted Max Verstappen’s race—he was one of the drivers who chose a higher downforce rear wing for qualifying—and, as a result, he was never able to seriously challenge Charles Leclerc for the podium due to the difference in straight-line speed.

Max Verstappen at Spa

Windsor agrees with Verstappen

Speaking about the approach taken by the FIA at the start of the race, F1 analyst Peter Windsor also agreed with the assessment of the four-time world champion.

''A delayed the start by over an hour and that basically robbed the world of a wet Belgian Grand Prix'', he stated on the matter.

''There were a couple of laps where the track was pretty wet and there was a bit of mist and stuff in the air and it was difficult to see.''

''But as Max Verstappen said, as he was behind the safety car, if we do more than two laps behind the safety car - and they did - then for sure the track will be dry by lap five of the race. And he was about right.''

He then added: ''I've got to say in terms of Formula 1 in 2025 and how conservative the rule makers are now when it rains, is it ever going to be worth taking a gamble again and running set-ups of that extreme the way Red Bull did?''

''Because to get any sort of advantage, Max would have needed the track to be really really wet. He would have needed the track to be exactly what it was when the race was due to start.''

''They went out, did a formation lap, aborted the start, they came in and sat around for an hour waiting for the track to dry. At that moment of course the whole advantage...any advantage that Red Bull might have had was flushed down the storm drains.''