Lewis Hamilton takes aim at Belgian GP 'overreaction'

Lewis Hamilton has disagreed with the race control's decision to delay the start of the Belgian Grand Prix.

The seven-time champion stated they were “overreacting” from the previous round at Silverstone where Kimi Antonelli and Isack Hadjar collided in low visibility conditions.

The race was red-flagged after drivers complained of visibility issues on the formation lap, before several laps were conducted behind the safety car ahead of a rolling start.

Hamilton, who commenced the race from towards the back of the grid after a disastrous qualifying session, was keen to see the grand prix get underway.

“We started the race a little bit too late, I would say,” Hamilton told media including RacingNews365. “I kept shouting ‘it's ready to go, it's ready to go’.

“They kept going round and round. So I think they're probably overreacting from the last race, where we asked them not to restart the race too early, because the visibility was bad.

“I think this weekend they just went a bit too much the other way, because we didn't need a rolling start.”

Max Verstappen was also critical of the decision to delay, stating the cars would have quickly cleared up any standing water while it was raining.

A well-timed pit stop saw him climb into the points after some early race overtakes, leaving him seventh at the chequered flag.

While the strategy fell in his favour, Hamilton detailed he set up his car to suit wet conditions, which lasted less than one-third of the race distance.

“My car was set up for that [rain], they waited for it to dry pretty much,” Hamilton said.

“They definitely could have done a standing start, especially at the end there, because it was almost a dry line. 

“There was hardly any spray. So they definitely could have done it.”