27/07/2025 18:45
Max Verstappen believes race control was wrong to delay the start
of the Belgian Grand Prix due to visibility concerns. The FIA
reported multiple drivers complained about poor visibility behind
the safety car as the conditions were assessed early on. Race
control opted to delay the starting procedure, which saw the
drivers return to the pit lane for over an hour before the
conditions improved. When asked when he would have liked the race
to start, Verstappen told media including RacingNews365 : "Three
o'clock, straight away. "It was not even raining. Of course,
between Turns 1 and 5, there was quite a bit of water. "But if you
do two or two laps behind the safety car, then it would have been a
lot more clear, and the rest of the track was ready to go anyway.
"It's a bit of a shame. I knew that they would be a bit more
cautious because of Silverstone, but this also didn't make sense.
"Then it's better to say 'let's wait until it's completely dry' and
we'll start on slicks because this is not really wet weather racing
for me." Verstappen spent the majority of his race following
Charles Leclerc as he sought to walk away with a podium result.
However, the Dutchman was forced to settle for fourth, marking his
third consecutive race without a trip to the top three
celebrations. "On the intermediates, we made a choice with the
setup and then they only allowed us to drive in almost slick
conditions," Verstappen said. "That's a bit disappointing, because
we spoke after Silverstone to be a little bit more cautious with
the decisions. "But this was then the other extreme for me. The
choice that we made with the set-up of the car was then the wrong
one, because they didn't allow us to race in the wet "Once we got
to the dry tyres, we were just too slow in the straight. "And then
with the general balance problems I have with this car, it just
made everything worse."
