The Belgian GP of 2021 left one more proof that heavy rain is the kryptonite of Formula 1. After a weekend in which water was the absolute protagonist, the organizational chaos deprived spectators of watching a race, due to the fact that could not be disputed.
When Michael Masi He began to announce progressive delays on the scheduled departure time, and he indicated that it was going to be a long afternoon. The accident of Sergio perez on the grid lap he made it clear that the track was impassable, although there were two formation laps behind the safety car.
At 15:30 they hit the track, but it was immediately impractical. All the drivers were clear: there was no visibility, the track was too slippery and it was very unsafe to race. Only Max verstappen, the man on pole, asked to leave.
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They all went straight to the pits. Michael Masi began to receive pressure from all sides, from the pilots who asked to leave, through those who requested to cancel completely, those to move it to Monday (this was immediately ruled out) and Red Bull, which asked permission for Sergio Pérez to leave if they It gave time for it to be repaired. It did, eventually, after being denied multiple times.
The three-hour limit from when the departure procedure was taken, at 3:00 p.m., ended at 5:00 p.m. The FIA wielded the article 11.9.3 of the FIA Sporting Regulations to remove that limit. The objective was clear: to wait until there was a minimum window, to do at least two laps (even behind the safety car) and to be able to consider the test as contested, even if it meant dividing half the points.
When Alan Van Der Merwe, the pilot of the safety car, took to the track, confirmed what was obvious: visibility was minimal for all, except for the first.
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It was the FIA itself who confirmed the objective: that there should be a weather window good enough to do a one-hour race.
At 6:17 p.m., local time, it was decided to take the start.
Belgian Grand Prix Race times table
The next race will be in a week, on the return of the Netherlands to the calendar. Will there be rain again?