Verstappen scolds FIA over Belgian GP rain delay

Heavy showers soaked Spa-Francorchamps shortly before the lights were meant to go out, prompting race control to delay the start by over an hour due to visibility concerns.

Drivers were sent back to the pit lane before the race eventually began behind the Safety Car on a drying track.

Verstappen, who started and finished fourth, made it clear post-race that he believed the FIA was too hesitant to get the race going earlier.

“Miles earlier. I mean one hour earlier,” he told Sky Sports.

“It was just a bit of a shame. Of course, they took a very cautious approach. We spoke about it after Silverstone to be a little more cautious because there was quite a lot of water there.

“But this, for me, was then the other extreme of waiting.”

While the FIA later revealed multiple drivers had raised concerns over visibility, Verstappen believed officials had gone too far in their efforts to avoid another Silverstone-style scenario.

“It just ruins a nice classic wet race as well,” Verstappen added.

“So we either still try to push to go for a proper wet race or we just say, you know what, we stop racing in the wet and we just wait for it to be dry. But that’s not what you want, right?

“I think we can have some really cool wet racing like it showed also in Silverstone.”

The delay had strategic consequences, particularly for Red Bull. Verstappen’s car had been set up for full wet conditions, including a high-downforce rear wing. But as the track dried and rivals switched to slicks early, that gamble backfired.

“That compromises then of course today with the rear wing,” Verstappen explained.

“But at the end of the day, the problems that we have with the car and tyre management is still there.

“It doesn’t matter what rear wing you put on the car. It also hurt us a little bit today in the race.”

Verstappen also struggled with energy deployment issues and was heard complaining on the radio about “clipping” — a harvesting limitation that cost him time on Spa’s long straights.

“When you’re running that wing, the nature of a track like this, you always have that trouble. So we did the best we could,” he said.

“When I said it on the radio we made some changes and it was much nicer around the lap. But we know what we have to work on.

“Unfortunately, it’s not that straightforward to fix.”

Verstappen spent much of the race stuck behind Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari and ultimately had to settle for fourth — his third straight race off the podium.

He remains third in the championship heading into next weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix.

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