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SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium – Max Verstappen won a rainy Belgian Grand Prix when it was finally called off on Sunday after restarting under a safety car almost three hours later than scheduled.
The race was cut short to last an hour with only half the points awarded to the winner, who only needed to complete two laps to earn points.
“Now, looking back, it was important to get pole position,” said Red Bull driver Verstappen. “But it was a shame not to do good tricks.”
He was leading in front of Williams driver George Russell and Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton on the fourth lap when the restarted race ended after about 10 minutes in the rain.
“Of course it’s a win, but not like you want to win,” Verstappen said. “Credit to all the fans who have been here for so long. They are the real winners today.
Verstappen’s sixth win of the season was the 16th of his career and prevented Hamilton from securing a record 100th victory, while reducing his overall lead from eight points to three.
Verstappen had 12.5 points instead of 25, Russell had nine for his second career podium and Hamilton had 7.5.
Fans cheered loudly from the stands and hills around the track when it was announced that the race would resume at 6:17 p.m. local time (4:17 p.m. GMT), 3 hours and 17 minutes after standard time.
But after only 10 minutes of Verstappen driving carefully behind the safety car, he was suspended for a second time just before 6.30 p.m.
“I really hope the fans get their money back today,” Hamilton said. “They were amazing.”
The first time the race was suspended was shortly after 3:30 p.m. local time following a formation lap.
The 7-kilometer (4.3-mile) Spa-Francorchamps circuit was totally soggy. Soaked fans huddled under large umbrellas on muddy shores as they waited for the worst of the rains to pass. The thick clouds and mist that hung over the Ardennes forest also gave the circuit an intimidating appearance and poor visibility.
When the pilots started their training laps for the first time, several complained.
“I really can’t see anything,” said Hamilton, who was aiming for a fifth win on the track.
The decision to suspend the start was taken a few moments later.
“It’s wet, but I think it’s good to race,” said Verstappen, who has started from pole for the sixth time this season and ninth overall.
His teammate Sergio Perez appeared to be out of the race even before it started, slipping off the track during the warm-up lap around 2:30 p.m. and damaging his front suspension.
Red Bull asked race management if Perez could start the race if they fixed his car in time. The FIA said they were considering the request and later announced that Perez would be cleared from the pit lane.
At 5 p.m., another delay was announced.
McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo entertained the fans who were waiting in the grandstand from the pit lane. In his 200th F1 race, the popular Aussie made extravagant hand gestures and waved to them chanting “Daniel, Daniel”.
“I obviously feel for them,” Ricciardo said. “We are in the same boat but the circumstances are beyond our control.”
It was a bad show for F1 – after some exciting races this season – but for Russell it was a huge race for his career.
Russell, who has completed the Mercedes Young Driver Program, is being touted as a possible Mercedes driver next year if the team does not renew Valtteri Bottas’ contract. Bottas finished 12th and did not score any points.
Russell started from second place after a brilliant qualifying session on Saturday which really caught the eye.
“We don’t often get rewarded for a great qualifying, but today we absolutely did,” he said. “There has been so much hard work over the past few years and here we are on the podium. “
Hamilton was critical of those who let the race go, he thought, for fun.
“They sent us to do the two laps behind the safety car for a race,” said the seven-time F1 champion. “You couldn’t really see five meters in front of you. It was even difficult to see in the straight line. You couldn’t go all the way.
Next race is the Dutch GP next weekend, where tens of thousands of orange-clad fans will roar against compatriot Verstappen as he seeks to regain the championship lead.
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