(Not a) Race Review - Belgian GP

 So, how funny was that weekend? The very long shortest race in the history of the sport. Damn.

Going into the weekend, we knew that there would be rain, and I don't know what it says about us as a fanbase that people now mindlessly cheer for rain, no matter the race or, more significantly here, the circuit and its history.

I, for one, was quite stressed. Friday practice went alright for F1, but there was an enormous shunt in the W series - bringing back the 2019 flashbacks. F1 cars are built so strong these days, and thank goodness for that because the weather just got worse and worse until come qualifying, Q3, which should have never been greenlighted at all, saw a massive shunt for Lando with his car doing half a dozen spins before coming to a stop. I have no idea how the guy kept his consciousness. Sebastian's radio message about it was iconic, though, and all of the drivers supporting the sentiments was heartening. 

The race was such a fiasco. The conditions were already treacherous, with Checo crashing on his way to the grid. After a delayed start of the formation lap, the cars were called back in and rightfully so. Spa, for all its merits, is a bad, bad circuit to drive in the rain because the spray from the cars has no way to escape and goes right up, diminishing visibility for the drivers to absolute zero very fast, and for a track where it is so easy to crash, not knowing if there is a car in your way stopped on the road ahead makes it absolutely impossible.

The FIA, though, I guess affected by the other race cancellations announced just ahead of the weekend, didn't want to call this a cancelled race and so, after waiting 4 hours for the rain to stop but in vain, sent the cars out behind the safety car to complete the minimum number of laps required to technically call the race a race. It was pretty laughable, and all but two drivers slammed the decision, if nothing else, at least for the sake of the fans who had waited out in the rain for that piece of trash racing action. 

Of course, the two drivers mentioned above are the two Williams drivers who, after the team not scoring a single point since Robert Kubica in 2019, finished their second consecutive race with both cars in the points. And, of course, the one shining thing in the race for me - Geroge Russell on the podium. George's Q3 lap was simply something else. He finished the lap on provisional pole and ended Qualifying in P2, ahead of Lewis Hamilton and three other world champions in better cars on the grid, beaten only by Max, bringing out another "Max" performance to take P1. If we thought Silverstone was magical for him, Spa has been simply out of this world, and boy does he deserve a better car - any car - next year.

So, alright, the podium was delightful just for that reason. But I am just glad it's race week again with another interesting (hopefully) circuit. The thing I cannot wait for is, of course, Monza. Other than being my favourite race last year, many driver decisions are supposed to be announced at Monza, and I for one, am tired of the rumours and would like to see the actual announcements already.

But until then - tot ziens!