28/07/2025 19:05
Oscar Piastri capitalised on a scruffy performance from McLaren
team-mate Lando Norris at Spa-Francorchamps to win the Belgian
Grand Prix. That was, however, only after an 80-minute delay to the
start amid poor visibility due to the difficult conditions in the
Ardennes Forest. Max Verstappen and George Russell did not see eye
to eye on that decision by race control, which has again brought
the issue of F1 racing in the wet to the fore. Here is how media
from around the world reacted to the thirteenth round of the F1
season, the Belgian Grand Prix. 🇬🇧 The Times - Verstappen slams
80-minute rain delay – but Russell says that view is stupid British
broadsheet The Times ran with the division amongst the drivers over
the contentious call to delay the start of the Belgian Grand Prix
by 80 minutes. In particular, it focused on the opinions of
Verstappen and Russell, two of the more outspoken from the current
cohort. The Dutchman did not believe the race at Spa-Francorchamps
should have been delayed at all, whilst the Mercedes driver argued
it would have been "stupidity" to start on time. 🇳🇱 De Telegraaf -
Mercedes gathers its heads together after the Belgian Grand Prix:
'Worst performance of the season' Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf
addressed Mercedes' difficult weekend in the Ardennes, with the
Brackley-based squad due to hold talks with its drivers ahead of
the Hungarian Grand Prix. The team wants to discuss where things
have gone wrong with the W16, which Russell took to four podiums in
the opening six rounds of the year. In the subsequent seven, only
the Briton's win and Kimi Antonelli's maiden trip to the rostrum at
the Canadian Grand Prix have added to that haul. The four-time
grand prix winner was particularly forthright about the team's
current form, calling it the "worst performance" of its campaign.
He finished sixth with Antonelli down in P16. 🇮🇹 La Gazzetta dello
Sport - Verstappen slams Race Direction in Belgium: "They're being
too cautious, so there won't be any more wet races." La Gazzetta
dello Sport , the Italian publication, followed a similar route to
The Times, zeroing in on Verstappen's dissatisfaction at race
control at Spa-Francorchamps. Specifically, it highlighted how the
Red Bull driver suggested that, with the direction F1 is going in,
there will no longer be "classic wet races" anymore. The four-time
F1 drivers' champion felt things had swung from one extreme to the
other after the British Grand Prix, after which it was agreed there
would be a more cautious approach employed. 🇺🇸 The Washington Post
- Delayed start at Belgian Grand Prix highlights Formula 1's
challenge with racing in the rain United States-based paper The
Washington Post tackled the 80-minute delay as well, underlining
the difficulty F1 has in getting decisions correct when adverse
weather rolls in. It highlighted the inherent danger of
Spa-Francorchamps, and in particular the Eau Rouge-Raidillon
section of the circuit, which has seen two fatalities in the past
six years. First, Anthoine Hubert lost his life there racing in F2
in 2019, but FRECA driver Dilano van 't Hoff died following a crash
in similar conditions to those seen on Sunday in 2023. 🇩🇪 BILD -
Clause in the contract: Spa result decides Verstappen's future
German outlet BILD addressed the now redundant clause in
Verstappen's contract that would have allowed him to leave Red Bull
if he was outside the top three in the drivers' title fight by the
summer break. That is now not possible, rendering that provision
null and void, because he leads fourth-place driver Russell by 28
points with only the 25 from the Hungarian Grand Prix still on
offer before the annual summer shutdown. Conveniently for the
Mercedes driver, his team is the one most closely linked to
Verstappen, so it is a net gain for him, at least for 2026 - with a
new contract seemingly on its way to the Briton. 🇯🇵 The Japan Times
- Oscar Piastri uses earlier disappointment as fuel to win Belgian
Grand Prix Japanese newspaper The Japan Times focused on how
Piastri turned around the disappointment he felt after missing out
on pole in qualifying. The Australian channelled it into victory
over McLaren team-mate Lando Norris. In doing so, he extended his
F1 drivers' championship lead from nine points to 16. "I was pretty
disappointed with myself after yesterday, but turns out starting
second at Spa is not too bad after all," the eight-time grand prix
winner said.
