Should F1 race control have started the Belgian GP earlier?

Oscar Piastri triumphed in the Belgian Grand Prix when it eventually got underway, but the race at Spa-Francorchamps underwhelmed, failing to live up to the promise of wet-weather chaos.

Changeable conditions were forecast at the legendary circuit, and that was indeed what presented itself to F1.

However, after an 80-minute delay to the start of the race, the 44-lap (minus the first four behind the safety car) was broadly dry and uneventful, with painful few overtakes once the field had rid itself of the intermediate tyres.

The grand prix was parked after the initial formation lap due to visibility concerns, something that cannot be mitigated by the full wet-weather tyres, which are, for all intents and purposes, redundant in modern-day F1 because of how ineffective they are.

That left race control in a difficult position, weighing safety against running the race as scheduled. Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton did not want any delay at all, but the biggest criticism was the length of the delay.

Nonetheless, some of the drivers felt it was correct to red flag the race after the initial formation lap behind the safety car, and others were happy with the wait to get the grand prix underway for good, even if it did almost entirely remove the changeable conditions as a factor.

So, was it a case of damned if you do, damned if you don't for F1 race director Rui Marques?

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