FIA President Jean Todt has announced there will be a review of Formula 1’s regulations – including the practice of handing out points once a race has run to a minimum of two laps – in the aftermath of last weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was declared the winner of the race at Spa-Francorchamps, which ran to two laps behind the Safety Car before the decision was made to red flag proceedings due to incessant and heavy rain – with Verstappen, and the rest of the drivers in the top 10 handed half points as per the regulations.
But with some drivers having questioned the decision to allot points at Spa, FIA President Todt said the matter would be reviewed at the next meeting of the F1 Commission.
“This year’s Belgian Grand Prix presented extraordinary challenges to the FIA Formula One World Championship,” said Todt in a statement. “The weather windows predicted by the forecasters did not appear throughout the day, and while a small window did appear late in the day during which there was an attempt to start the race, conditions quickly worsened again.
Race Highlights: 2021 Belgian Grand Prix
“Therefore, due to the lack of visibility created by the spray behind the cars, we could not run the full race in sufficiently safe conditions for the drivers, marshals, as well as the brave spectators who waited many hours in the rain, for whom I am very sorry.
“The FIA Stewards have, based on the provisions of the International Sporting Code, stopped the competition to gain more time,” added Todt, “and therefore more potential, to give the fans an F1 race. Despite these efforts, the race could not be started after the Safety Car laps, and the existing regulations have been correctly applied.
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“The FIA, together with Formula 1 and the teams, will carefully review the regulations to see what can be learned and improved for the future. The findings, including the topic of points allocation, will be added to the agenda of the next F1 Commission meeting on October 5.”
Verstappen’s victory, and the 12.5 points he earned, allowed him to move to within three points of Lewis Hamilton in the drivers’ standings, with Hamilton finishing the Belgian Grand Prix third, behind Williams’ George Russell.
