Latest news with #wetweatherracing
National Post
3 days ago
- Automotive
- National Post
Three things we learned from Belgian F1 Grand Prix
Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium — Drivers and team bosses are divided on the future for wet-weather Formula One racing following an 80-minute rain delay that preceded Oscar Piastri's victory in Belgium on Sunday. Article content While old school racers including multiple champions Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen favoured a prompt start on a tricky circuit, younger drivers and team chiefs preferred to back race director Rui Marques's caution and wait for dry weather. Article content Article content Article content Piastri secured his sixth win of the season, with great aplomb that makes him favourite to beat McLaren team-mate Lando Norris to the drivers' title. Article content The Australian's consistency and mental strength helped him into a 16-point lead after 13 of this year's 24 races, but his drive was overshadowed by post-race arguments about racing in the rain. Article content Ferrari's Hamilton and Red Bull's Verstappen slammed the long delay and choice of rolling start, but others including Mercedes' George Russell and Williams' Carlos Sainz backed the 'safety first' decision at a track with a dark history of fatal accidents. Article content 'We could've gone miles earlier, an hour earlier,' said Verstappen. Article content 'It was a shame. It just ruins a nice classic wet race. Either we push to go for a wet race — or we just stop racing in the wet… and wait for it to be dry. But that's not what you want, right?' Article content Article content Verstappen's car was set up for extreme wet conditions, as forecast, but the decision meant he and others were disadvantaged. He finished fourth. Article content Triumphant McLaren team boss Andrea Stella, celebrating a sixth 1-2 this year, praised the move. Article content 'I think the race was managed in a very wise way by the FIA,' he said. Article content 'We knew there was a lot of rain coming and I think at a circuit like this if you make the calls late, it may be too late — and the outcome could be difficult.' Article content He emphasised the unique risks of the high-speed track through the forested valleys of the Ardennes. Article content 'I understand it would be entertaining, but the average speed is so high at Spa that in wet conditions it's impossible to see.' New Red Bull chief Laurent Mekies, in his first outing after replacing Christian Horner, said: 'I think we were all surprised by how late we started.'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Three things we learned from Belgian F1 Grand Prix
Drivers and team bosses are divided on the future for wet-weather Formula One racing following an 80-minute rain delay that preceded Oscar Piastri's victory in Belgium on Sunday. While old school racers including multiple champions Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen favoured a prompt start on a tricky circuit, younger drivers and team chiefs preferred to back race director Rui Marques's caution and wait for dry weather. AFP Sport looks at three things we learned from Sunday's race at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit: Safety first option sparks lively debate Piastri secured his sixth win of the season, with great aplomb that makes him favourite to beat McLaren team-mate Lando Norris to the drivers' title. The Australian's consistency and mental strength helped him into a 16-point lead after 13 of this year's 24 races, but his drive was overshadowed by post-race arguments about racing in the rain. Ferrari's Hamilton and Red Bull's Verstappen slammed the long delay and choice of rolling start, but others including Mercedes' George Russell and Williams' Carlos Sainz backed the "safety first" decision at a track with a dark history of fatal accidents. "We could've gone miles earlier, an hour earlier," said Verstappen. "It was a shame. It just ruins a nice classic wet race. Either we push to go for a wet race -- or we just stop racing in the wet... and wait for it to be dry. But that's not what you want, right?" Verstappen's car was set up for extreme wet conditions, as forecast, but the decision meant he and others were disadvantaged. He finished fourth. Triumphant McLaren team boss Andrea Stella, celebrating a sixth 1-2 this year, praised the move. "I think the race was managed in a very wise way by the FIA," he said. "We knew there was a lot of rain coming and I think at a circuit like this if you make the calls late, it may be too late -- and the outcome could be difficult." He emphasised the unique risks of the high-speed track through the forested valleys of the Ardennes. "I understand it would be entertaining, but the average speed is so high at Spa that in wet conditions it's impossible to see." New Red Bull chief Laurent Mekies, in his first outing after replacing Christian Horner, said: "I think we were all surprised by how late we started." The former FIA deputy race and safety director added: "Fundamentally, we waited not only for the rain to stop, but also pretty much for the sun to come out -- and then we still had many laps behind the safety car. "I'm sure the FIA had its reasons, but in our case, having based the car towards wet running, it cost us performance, but, it's all part of the game." Red Bull win despite Verstappen losing Verstappen's fourth-placed finish had one upside for Mekies as a performance break clause in his contract lapsed. According to paddock sources, the Dutchman had a right to leave for 2026 if he was outside the top three drivers at the end of July, but his points in Belgium, including a sprint race win on Saturday, mean he cannot be overhauled. Verstappen is third behind the McLaren duo but 28 points ahead of Mercedes' George Russell, whose future was under threat from Verstappen's possible arrival. He cannot catch him even if he wins in Hungary this week. Hamilton eyes turning the corner Hamilton's roller-coaster ride since joining Ferrari continued as he went from 18th, and a pit lane start, to finish seventh. On Saturday, he apologised to Ferrari for his "unacceptable" qualifying while critics noted that, at 40, he was struggling to cope –- two days after revealing he had bombarded senior Ferrari staff with memos for team improvements. After seeing him storm through the field, team chief Fred Vasseur joked Hamilton was now "engineering the car himself", before the Briton revealed he had invited a former Mercedes engineer to join his team. "We'll get stronger together now," he promised. str/pi/mw
New York Times
3 days ago
- Automotive
- New York Times
Belgian Grand Prix puts F1's wet-weather racing under scrutiny
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.'
