Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff says Formula 1 needs to "move on" from its Belgian Grand Prix debacle, insisting the truncated event at Spa was the result of a never seen before "freak day".
In hindsight, the 12th round of the 2021 F1 world championship was doomed from the outset, undermined by adverse weather conditions that never let up.
The fans' hopes of watching at least half a race unfold late in the day, after a patient three-hour wait, were blown up after a three-lap procession behind the safety car that officially sanctioned Max Verstappen as the day's winner, while half-points were awarded to the top-ten drivers in the running order.
While there was little debate about the validity and rationale behind FIA race director Michael Masi's decision to abort proceedings, Wolff nevertheless felt frustrated with his Mercedes team's inability to race.
©Mercedes
But ultimately, the Austrian reckons that it's time for Formula 1 to "move on".
"I think we all have reasons to be upset," Wolff said on Sunday evening. "Half points have been awarded when probably it was expected that the weather wouldn’t get any better.
"But it is what it is. I guess you need to take this one on the chin and close the chapter for this race and move on.
"We must really applaud the fans, who were there for three days in the rain. They have waited for a race to happen. But as a team, we lost some points and that’s why we have to move on."
Formula 1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali and FIA president Jean Todt have both said that all involved parties, including the teams, will meet next month to discuss the various contentious points highlighted by Sunday's events.
But Wolff isn't there is much to be learned from what amounted to a "freak day" for the Mercedes boss.
"This has never happened before, so you need to take it as a freak day, where we all hoped to have a spectacular day that didn’t happen," said the Austrian.
"Are there any learnings? I’m not sure, because we are dependent on the weather. Everybody tried hard to get a race underway and because of the rain, it didn’t happen."
On Sunday evening, many suggested that F1 could have postponed the race to the next day. However, logistics and all sorts of practical issues notwithstanding, Wolff believes that a 24-hour delay wouldn't have made much difference for the fans, as most would not have been able to attend a Monday race.
"We have had plenty of fans that will have to go back to their jobs (on Monday), and we would have tried to have the race for the local fans," he said. "Therefore (a delay) wouldn’t have made a great difference for them."
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