Formula 1 Rolex Belgian Grand Prix 2021Formula 1 

  • Thread starter Jimlaad43
  • 464 comments
  • 26,247 views
kungtotte_
That would be the full weekend though with setup, Friday sessions, Saturday sessions, Sunday race, teardown, and probably all of the support races and such as well.

There's no way the GP race alone costs $850 million, so postponing the GP to Monday wouldn't cost them another $850 million (but it would still be infeasible).
Click to expand...
Maybe including all the costs that the teams are making, considering that the teams together are spending many billions per season
 
240845247_10223381686023474_1566590423273735083_n.jpg
 
I've seen a lot of stick and axe-grinding being directed at Masi, which seems to be a tad unfair; both attempted starts (albeit behind the SC) the visibility behind Max was basically nil, aside from the relative slower sections (no-name, bottom of the track. Any aqua-planning up the Kemmel straight at the wrong moment e.g. moving to one side to see through the spray... it's going to lead to the mother of all pile-ups, possible t-bones at speeds of 150mph+. It just doesn't bear thinking about, especially as we've seen in recent times how deadly this track is without adverse weather thrown in.

I don't particularly agree with the decision to send them out a second time with the weather as it was, that seems to have been a box ticking exercise. I do think it was a good call to delay; Masi has confirmed that it was beyond the realms of possibility to go again on Monday, and if there was a good chance that the steady/heavy rain could've faded sufficiently then why not wait? If they HAD called the race off shortly after aborted start 1 and it DID lessen off sufficiently, people would've been calling for his head for not being patient enough. He can't win here.
 
Blitz24
I'd have to imagine it would cost over 9 figures to extend one day. Some of the costs could be mitigated for tracks known to have problematic weather with proper planning, but that's a discussion for contingency plans for 2022 and beyond.
Click to expand...
Yep, if the race organizer included contingency plans for a Monday restart it would cost much less than if they decided on an impromptu Monday restart.

That sort of thing gets tricky with all of these double and triple headers on the calendar, will the teams manage with a day less before the next time out?
 
Regarding the possibility of doing the race on Monday, NASCAR and IndyCar find ways to do this. However, even there, circumstances are different every time. Also, specifically with NASCAR, a race delay is much more common and so everyone involved are well-versed with that type of contingency. F1 has been quite (un)fortunate that weather conditions the past few years haven't put them in a box like this. That said, what we saw today tells me that the 2-lap rule was designed for this very occasion. I can understand the business rationale behind it but as a motorsports fan, I am disgusted they manufactured a result.

Some outcomes out of this:
1. For the driver's championship, net gain for Max but I feel had the race gone underway, he would've been the points leader now. Been hearing the Mercs were prepped for drier conditions and so Hamilton might've struggled to stay in 3rd.
2. Colossal mistake by Perez, even more in retrospect. I fear he is what I thought he was going to be; some moments of greatness intermixed with blunders.
3. Terrible break for Lando. After what happened to him yesterday, he doesn't even get a chance to claw back. To think he could've "won" today.
4. I presume Bottas has officially served his grid penalty. Still effectively gets punished because he was a pleb in qualifying.
5. Thanks to Mazepin, he saved F1 from having to answer whether the fastest lap would've counted for points.
6. I want to feel good for George after all the bad luck he's had but the cringe is just too much.
 
And would Spa even want a race on Monday, even if would could magic up a load of marshals out of thin air? Monday is the day F1 removes sponsor hoardings, DRS boards, cameras and the like, and Tuesday is probably a track day, Corporate day or a open/private test day. So Would Spa really cancel something that actually makes money to extend an event that has already made all they money its going make, probably at a loss too.

On the two lap thing, well they could have at least hid it better by having the race start under the safety car count as a SC period like in the past instead of two formation laps. Then have them troll around for 3-4 laps then park it, at least then it wouldn't have looked as bad as the box ticking exercise. As much as I don't agree with just 2 laps counting as a race (It used to be 50% did it not?) I understand why they did it. They need 16 races to fulfil the TV contracts, so ticking off one more safeguards them from any more cancellations that may not get replaced.
 
So, I just caught up with the final result, and am honestly not surprised with the outcome. That being said, even though no points have been awarded, are the results official, and this is officially Russells first ever F1 podium?
 
Famine
They have - which is proving unpopular among many of the drivers who have taken the points.
Click to expand...
Wait, really? I was seeing reports earlier that the race was called, but there'd be no points given since only 1 lap was completed.

Edit: Nevermind, just saw a racefans article about it. That's some major BS, even if it means Russell got a podium.
 
Last edited:
NotThePrez
Wait, really? I was seeing reports earlier that the race was called, but there'd be no points given since only 1 lap was completed.

Edit: Nevermind, just saw a racefans article about it. That's some major BS, even if it means Russell got a podium.
Click to expand...
Half points, but yes, it counts (there was more than 1 lap though, it was 3 laps behind SC)
Liquid
Today sucked but this race doesn't even come close to being as bad as Indianapolis 2005.
Click to expand...
I think the biggest difference is that Indianapolis 2005 was avoidable, there were solutions proposed back then, but they were declined. Today there just wasn't any option to race, and there was nothing that could be done about it.
 
Last edited:
PaMu1337
Half points, but yes, it counts (there was more than 1 lap though, it was 3 laps behind SC)
Click to expand...
Actually it was a one-lap race.

The cars passed the control line three times, but the red flag counts back to the previous completed lap, so two laps. However the first lap under SC after the formation lap didn't count as a race start, but reduced the race length by one lap...

... so the results are indeed after one lap, but because the cars passed the control line three times that's enough to satisfy the two-lap rule.
 
Famine
Actually it was a one-lap race.

The cars passed the control line three times, but the red flag counts back to the previous completed lap, so two laps. However the first lap under SC after the formation lap didn't count as a race start, but reduced the race length by one lap...

... so the results are indeed after one lap, but because the cars passed the control line three times that's enough to satisfy the two-lap rule.
Click to expand...
The countback is just for the results right? The lap has still been finished.
They did 3 laps behind SC after the initial red flag. I didn't count the double formation lap.
After the final red flag they displayed that they were on lap 4
 
Caught up again. Absolutely the right decision not to run the race, that visibility was just awful. All I could think was if the race starts someone could die. All it would take is anyone to spin/crash and stay on the track and they would have been v ulnerable for being smashed into. I didn't want to risk seeing that.


Giving out points for zero racing laps is, however, utterly absurd. That wasn't a race, simple as that. I get they have to call it for legal reasons but it shouldn't be a sporting result, complete with a podium and data in the history books.

Points are given for racing. Not qualifying and SC laps.
 
Last edited:
Doing 3 laps behind the safety car (with no hope of actually racing) just to have an official result seems like they're taking the piss a bit.
 
Last edited:
Famine
While I broadly concur, I feel obliged to counter with the existence of Monaco.

[/mild satire]
Click to expand...
True, but you have to finish the 78 laps. It's a textbook definition of a race if it isn't usually a race race.

As someone else asked, when did it change from 50% for half points? Points for only two laps of racing seems a bit crazy but points for laps only behind the SC makes zero sense.
 
It looks like there was officially no fastest lap this 'race', since only the first lap counted as part of the race, and since it was an outlap for everyone, that lap didn't count for fastest lap.
So no fastest lap for Mazepin.
 
So that was a complete farce. They've raced under worse conditions than that before, during this era. I'm all for keeping the guys as safe as possible, but that wasn't an event. I'm with Hamilton, Vettel, and Alonso: the fans should get their money back.
 
Terronium-12
So that was a complete farce. They've raced under worse conditions than that before, during this era. I'm all for keeping the guys as safe as possible, but that wasn't an event. I'm with Hamilton, Vettel, and Alonso: the fans should get their money back.
Click to expand...
The visibility was the problem.

Definitely agree that the fans should get a refund though. If FOM try to get out of it by referring to that "race" result then I'm sure the fans would have good legal standing. A race is a competitive competition, that wasn't it. Monaco it might realistically be near impossible to race but it's allowed and technically possible. Overtaking and racing was 100% prohibited today.

In fact I wonder if some teams challenge it. RUS did great yesterday but he shouldn't get points just for that. Williams are now way up on Sauber.
 
If you're a cynical auld lemon like me, you know they did those token laps just so they could declare an event. If the race had to be cancelled, I bet there is some liability insurance that the sport would be open to that they simply didn't want to entertain. Nothing gets in the way of the world's greatest motorsport!

And yes, different to an event being cancelled ahead of time. I'm on about an event that was actually taking place and being cancelled. Absolutely calling shenanigans on this. Minimal contractually-obligated effort to avoid court cases.
 
Last edited:
For me, running two laps behind the safety car just for classification was the equivalent of Indy '05. I, like most people, assumed the race would be cancelled by then, but when they got going again I was under the impression they would run a few laps to clear the water a bit and then give it a go. They could've very easily been up front about this rather than bringing the cars in again and waiting another ten minutes to call it off.
 

Latest Posts

Back