Belgian Grand Prix puts F1's wet-weather racing under scrutiny

New York Times

4 days ago

An hour and 20 minutes.
That's how long it took the Belgian Grand Prix to get underway at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. Significant rain came through the Ardennes forest, where the track is located, on and off on Sunday. The Formula Three race was red-flagged after starting behind the safety car, and the Formula Two feature race took place after extra formation laps behind a safety car.
Advertisement
A dry spell came through just before the grand prix, though it didn't last long. Teams fitted the cars with intermediate tires before heading to the grid, and awnings were set up over each car as the rain began hammering down. They tried going around the track behind the safety car, but the starting procedure was suspended and the event was briefly stopped.
It became a waiting game of whether (and when) the race would begin. Not everyone agreed with the timing of the race's eventual start, as the track dried fairly quickly once the sun came out from behind the storm clouds. This caught out some teams, like Red Bull, that had made setup choices expecting more wet racing, and it raised questions about the future of wet-weather racing and the purpose of the increasingly underused Pirelli wet tire.
However, given the circuit's tragic history, dangerous nature and the visibility concerns, a cautious approach was probably the right decision, even if some found it frustrating.
'As a racer, you always want to get going. You love driving in the rain,' George Russell told reporters after the race. 'But the fact is, when you're doing over 200 miles an hour out of Eau Rouge, you literally cannot see anything; you may as well have a blindfold on. It isn't racing, it's just stupidity.'
Spa has a deadly history. Briton Archie Scott-Brown died after crashing in 1958, and Chris Bristow and Alan Stacey were killed two years later. The race was boycotted in 1969 when drivers called for safer conditions.
Changes made over the years prompted F1's return in the 1980s, but in recent years, the Eau Rouge and Raidillon section (Turns 2 through 4) has become a topic of concern. Anthoine Hubert died in 2019 following a multi-car crash that started at Raidillon during a F2 race. In a Formula Regional European Championship race that took place in wet conditions in 2023, Dilano van 't Hoff died after an accident between Raidillon and the Kemmel Straight.
The circuit made a few changes, like expanding the runoff area at Raidillon, following Hubert's death. But after van 't Hoff's death, the question of whether more track changes need to be made arose again.
'I think the past few years, particularly here, we've given the FIA feedback that we would much rather be on the safe side than risk anything. I think that's what we did today,' race winner Oscar Piastri told reporters on Sunday. 'If you were to be picky, maybe we could have done one less formation lap.
Advertisement
'But in the grand scheme of things, if that's one lap too early, is it worth it? No.'
Charles Leclerc, who finished third, echoed a similar sentiment, stating that it's better to 'be safe than too early' because 'on a track like this with what happened historically, I think you cannot forget about it.' But, as the Ferrari driver noted, 'it's always fine-tuning.'
'It's a constant discussion, and we'll probably feed the people that made this decision back that maybe it was a little bit on the late side, but I wouldn't have changed anything.'
F1 fans are used to hearing about the three slick tires (hard, medium, and soft) and the intermediate tires, but there is a fifth tire at teams' disposals — a full wet, specifically designed for heavy rain and standing water.
Compared to the more competitive intermediate tires, which are for light rain or damp tracks, the full wet tire has deeper grooves in the tread. But this tire, while designed for conditions like those we saw on Sunday, has a catch: the water the tires disperse (said to be around 85 liters per second at 300 kilometers per hour) has to go somewhere. The spray creates a rooster tail behind the cars, worsening the visibility the further back you move down the grid.
The lack of visibility was a concern when the race was supposed to start on time behind a safety car — even among the drivers at the front of the grid. When the race eventually got underway, they did a few laps behind the safety car before the cars raced while already moving for a rolling start.
After the rain-soaked British Grand Prix on July 6, the drivers spoke with the FIA, motorsport's world governing body, about being 'a little bit more cautious,' as Max Verstappen put it, when it came to decisions made regarding driving in the rain and visibility.
Advertisement
The wet conditions in that race made it hard to see at times — Isack Hadjar crashed into the back of Kimi Antonelli after he couldn't see the Mercedes in front of him.
While some drivers supported the race director's decision on Sunday, Verstappen felt it was 'the other extreme.'
Lewis Hamilton shared a similar sentiment, saying that the race started 'a little too late' and didn't need a rolling start, suggesting there was an overreaction after the British GP, but did tell reporters the organizers 'did a good job.'
'Of course, we did miss some of the extreme wet racing, which I think would have been nice. But for some reason, the spray here, this year at least, it's like fog,' he continued.
Conditions shape the setups teams opt for each weekend. The cars are put in parc fermé conditions, restricting the work teams can do on them, for pre-race starting when the drivers leave the pit lane for Q1.
The setup for Verstappen's car was for wet conditions, as it was known that there would be rain on Sunday. But given the lack of wet-weather racing, he said, 'It ruins your whole race a bit.'
'Once we got to the dry tires, we were just too slow in the straight,' Verstappen told reporters. 'And then with the general balance problems that I already have with this car, it made everything just a bit worse.'
Ultimately, the Dutchman felt racing should have begun at the scheduled 3pm start time. Though admitting there was 'quite a bit of water' at Turns 1 and 5, the four-time world champion said, 'if you do two or three laps behind the safety car, then (the track) would have been a lot more clear. And the rest of the track was ready to go. It's a bit of a shame.'
When it was pointed out that most drivers raised visibility concerns, Verstappen said that would have only lasted a few laps. His two cents were to go slower: 'If you can't see, you can always lift, and at one point, you will see.'
Advertisement
Deciding when to start a race in wet conditions is never simple. The race director has to sift through all the information at their disposal to determine the safest option. It's a tricky balance to strike, especially at tracks such as Spa.
Sunday's start time might have been influenced by history — Spa's and the British GP a few weeks ago. Verstappen said Spa's history 'potentially' influenced the decision-making process.
'I just find it a bit of a shame for everyone,' he said. 'You will never see these classic kind of wet races anymore, then, which I think they still can happen.'