The Belgian GP will go down as the shortest ever, and while F1 Managing Director of motorsport Ross Brawn felt terrible for fans in attendance, he believes a rare weekend of weather left the FIA with no other alternatives. Max Verstappen took the win from pole position in a race that saw half points awarded, with drivers only able to complete two laps behind the Safety Car before the race was red-flagged and called off. Brawn explained that poor visibility rather than the intensity of the rain was the main problem, though he noted it was rare to see the water come down as intensely and consistently as it did. "I feel terrible for the fans, who turned out in their thousands and braved consistently wet conditions in the grandstands to support their heroes," Brawn wrote in his column for Formula1.com. "They showed such dedication and will never forget this weekend. "Unfortunately, the weather worked against us. It was relentless. The FIA tried everything they could, sending the cars out twice behind the Safety Car to assess the conditions. "It wasn't so much the intensity of the rain that was the problem, more that it was consistent which led to very poor visibility. "It's pretty rare to see a weekend where the weather has been so intense, so consistently. Every effort was made to get the race underway safely and normally, there is a window when you can bring the Safety Car in, but that wasn't possible." In the end safety came first, a decision Brawn feels was the right one, though he admits awarding half points wasn't the ideal scenario either. "At the end of the day, safety comes first," Brawn added. "And it wasn't safe enough to continue the race. So the FIA did the best they could in what have been very challenging circumstances, of which we've not seen in decades. "Half points were awarded. It's not ideal but if you can't reward someone for the race, reward them for the bravery in qualifying. A lap like George Russell did in qualifying in the absence of a race should be rewarded. "As I say, it's not ideal, but it's where we are. The weather just wasn't in our corner on Saturday."
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