Verstappen expresses anger at FIA rain delay decision at Spa

Max Verstappen believes that the FIA's decision to delay the start of the Belgian Grand Prix was a mistake, saying he "could've went miles earlier" and that it prevented the unfolding of a "classic rain race".

The reigning World Champion delighted many local fans at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps with victory in Saturday's Sprint race, but it was always going to be a tall order to replicate his performance on Sunday's main race.

Starting from fourth, Verstappen was raring to get the Grand Prix underway, but was disappointed to hear that race control had abandoned the start of the race due to fears of poor visibility for the drivers in the wet conditions.

Heavy rain then fell on the racetrack, and although it stopped relatively quickly it was over an hour before on-track action resumed.

Why The Delay?

When the Grand Prix got back underway the track had already dried significantly, so much so that the intermediate tyres that the drivers were on overheated and fell away within the first few laps of the 44-lap event.

Verstappen, despite challenging for the final podium spot held by Ferrari's Charles Leclerc at numerous points during the Grand Prix, eventually settled for fourth at the chequered flag.

Having set up his Red Bull RB21 for wet weather conditions, the four-time World Champion was upset at the FIA's decision to wait until the track was pretty much dry to resume the race.

He explained that the main reason he couldn't get past Leclerc was because his rear wing configuration limited his speed down the straights.

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He told Viaplay: "I must say I wasn't stuck behind him [Leclerc], just on the inters. Afterwards we had the same pace.

"Then he drove away but he also made a mistake so I was close again. We put on a wing for the rain, but in the end we barely drove in the rain so that was worthless. it was all very safe, the decisions were too careful which is disappointing," lamented Verstappen.

Disappointing For The Fans As Well

The Dutchman was also disappointed on behalf of all Formula 1 fans, as he believes the Grand Prix would have been more exciting if the drivers had a chance to duke it out in the difficult rainy conditions.

He continued: "We had to go immediately. We could've gone through even the heaviest rain. It is what it is.

"We even discussed doing VSC so you could go a bit faster. At the end they make the decisions and we have to live with it," stated the Red Bull driver.

Verstappen also told Sky Sports F1: "We could’ve went miles earlier, an hour earlier. It was a bit of a shame.

"It just ruins a nice classic wet race as well so, we either still push to go for a wet race or we just stop racing in the wet and we wait for it to be dry. But that’s not what you want, right?"

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