Verstappen receives no support from McLaren and Ferrari colleagues

12:29, 28 Jul

byLudo van Denderen

Max Verstappen grumbled and complained. The Red Bull Racing driver couldn't quite understand why the race management decided to delay the Belgian Grand Prix until the anticipated rain race was no longer a concern.

Verstappen knew full well that he was helpless against the McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in dry conditions. Overtaking the stronger Ferrari driven by Charles Leclerc, starting ahead of him, would also be a problem.

Precisely the McLaren drivers and Leclerc benefited from the fact that rain driver Verstappen did not get the chance to display his skills on a wet track in Spa. You heard no complaints from the trio - perhaps with this in mind - about starting the race too late.

Leclerc acknowledges dilemma

Leclerc, for example, felt that the race management had wisely decided to wait until 4:20 PM local Belgium time and the track was almost dry. "I think it's always fine-tuning. On a track like this with what happened historically, I think you cannot forget about it," said the Monegasque, hinting at two fatal accidents in the recent past.

"For that reason, I'd rather be safe than too early. It's a constant discussion, and we'll probably feed the people that made this decision back that maybe it was a little bit on the late side, but I wouldn't have changed anything."

Charles Leclerc understands the decision of the race management

Feedback for the FIA

Race winner Oscar Piastri pointed out that the drivers had insisted on being more conservative in these situations. "I think the past few years, particularly here, we've given the FIA feedback that we would much rather be on the safe side than risk anything," said the Australian.

"I think that's what we did today. If you were to be picky, maybe we could have done one less formation lap. But in the grand scheme of things, if that's one lap too early, is it worth it? No."

"Also, us three are the worst people to ask because we have the least amount of cars in front of us. For someone at the back, the first time we tried to start the race, even for myself with just Lando ahead, I couldn't see a thing."

"You can only imagine what it's like for the guys at the back. That's always a tough thing to balance because the guys at the front have an easier time than the guys at the back," added Piastri.