Max Verstappen believes race control was wrong to delay the start of the Belgian Grand Prix due to visibility concerns.
The FIA reported multiple drivers complained about poor visibility behind the safety car as the conditions were assessed early on.
Race control opted to delay the starting procedure, which saw the drivers return to the pit lane for over an hour before the conditions improved.
When asked when he would have liked the race to start, Verstappen told media including RacingNews365: “Three o'clock, straight away.
“It was not even raining. Of course, between Turns 1 and 5, there was quite a bit of water.
“But if you do two or three laps behind the safety car, then it would have been a lot more clear, and the rest of the track was ready to go anyway.
“It's a bit of a shame. I knew that they would be a bit more cautious because of Silverstone, but this also didn't make sense.
“Then it's better to say 'let's wait until it's completely dry' and we'll start on slicks because this is not really wet weather racing for me.”
Verstappen spent the majority of his race following Charles Leclerc as he sought to walk away with a podium result.
However, the Dutchman was forced to settle for fourth, marking his third consecutive race without a trip to the top three celebrations.
“On the intermediates, we made a choice with the setup and then they only allowed us to drive in almost slick conditions,” Verstappen said.
“That’s a bit disappointing, because we spoke after Silverstone to be a little bit more cautious with the decisions.
“But this was then the other extreme for me. The choice that we made with the set-up of the car was then the wrong one, because they didn't allow us to race in the wet
“Once we got to the dry tyres, we were just too slow in the straight.
“And then with the general balance problems I have with this car, it just made everything worse.”
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