The 2025 Belgian Grand Prix experienced a significant delay of over an hour due to persistent rain that impacted visibility and track safety. The FIA received several complaints from drivers about poor visibility while trailing the safety car during the initial assessment laps. As a result, race control halted the starting procedure and sent all cars back into the pits until conditions improved sufficiently to begin the race.
Max Verstappen strongly criticized the decision, arguing that the delay was unnecessary and the conditions were manageable. He said the track was already safe for racing at the scheduled time of 3 PM, with only minimal water between Turns 1 and 5. Verstappen believed that just a couple of laps behind the safety car would have cleared the worst of the standing water and made the circuit ready for racing.
Verstappen expressed frustration, noting that officials appeared to overcompensate for prior incidents, such as those at Silverstone, by being overly cautious at Spa. He suggested that if race control wasn’t comfortable letting the race proceed in such conditions, they should have waited until the track was completely dry and allowed slick tires instead. To him, the decision undermined the spirit of proper wet-weather racing.
The Red Bull driver also touched on how the weather-related delay negatively impacted his race strategy and performance. Verstappen revealed that his team had set up the car with intermediate conditions in mind, only to be forced into almost dry conditions when the race finally resumed. This mismatch left him struggling with pace and balance, especially when the race transitioned to dry tires.
As a result, Verstappen was unable to mount a serious challenge and ended up stuck behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc for most of the race. He ultimately finished in fourth place, marking the third race in a row without a podium finish. He admitted the car’s straight-line speed issues and general balance problems only added to his frustration in what he described as a missed opportunity due to race control’s overly cautious approach.
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