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Pierre Gasly says it was a shame there was not any green flag running during Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix, with the Frenchman starting and finishing sixth in a race that saw only a handful of laps behind the safety car.

The Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda driver believes the conditions that faced the drivers at Spa-Francorchamps were ‘extreme’, and he does not believe he had driven in those kind of conditions before during his racing career.

Gasly says everyone knows how dangerous it is to drive at Spa-Francorchamps, so to not allow them to race at full-speed was the right decision from his point of view.

“It’s been a long day and I’m very disappointed that we didn’t get to race,” said Gasly. “I think we all feel very sorry for the fans that have stayed with us in the rain all day, without any racing, and I would like to thank them all for staying until the end.

“However, the conditions were very extreme, I don’t think I’ve driven in conditions worse than this before. I think that the problem was that if anyone spun in the first lap, there was absolutely no visibility and there would’ve been a big accident.

Sebastian Vettel admitted the FIA had to make some tough decisions during Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix, and ultimately it meant a few laps behind the safety car being called a race as heavy rain made it impossible to run at full speed.

The Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team racer finished fifth and scored five points towards the Drivers’ Championship at Spa-Francorchamps, with half points being awarded due to the race not going to at least seventy-five per cent of its scheduled distance.

Vettel said the decisions made by the FIA were probably the right ones as track conditions made for difficult and potentially dangerous running, with the spray and aquaplaning in particular being carefully observed by Michael Masi and his stewards.

“I think it is a frustrating day for all of us and an anti-climax, especially for the fans, who were outside in the wet and the cold all day waiting to see a race,” said Vettel.  “I feel sorry we could not give them the entertainment they deserved to see.

“The rain just never stopped and, when we did go out, the spray was very bad with low visibility. The FIA had to make some tough decisions today. It is not easy for them, but safety has to be the priority, and even though their decisions may not have been popular they were probably the right ones.”

The McLaren F1 Team regained third place in the Constructors’ Championship thanks to the result of the Belgian Grand Prix, but Team Principal Andreas Seidl was apologetic to the fans who did not get to see a proper race due to the inclement weather conditions.

Heavy rain meant the ‘race’ at Spa-Francorchamps was run for a handful of laps behind the safety car, with Daniel Ricciardo ending fourth for his best result for McLaren and Lando Norris fourteenth.

Seidl says the conditions were impossible for racing to happen, and he praised the fans that stuck around for a race that never really got going.

“What a very strange day! Firstly, the spectators have our commiserations,” said Seidl.  “They endured many fruitless hours in the grandstands out around the track, and stuck it out to the bitter end, cheering on the teams and drivers.

“We’re very sorry F1 could not put on a real race today but the right decision was made. It was simply not possible to start safely.”

Daniel Ricciardo secured his best result of his McLaren F1 Team career at Spa-Francorchamps, but the Australian will not have wanted it to happen the way it did on Sunday.

Ricciardo’s excellent performance in Qualifying on Saturday gave him fourth on the grid, and that is the same position he finished as the Belgian Grand Prix was run for just a handful of laps behind the safety car as heavy rain prevented any green flag running.

Ricciardo was racing in his two-hundredth Grand Prix on Sunday, but he hopes for more entertainment for the fans and more action for the drivers in his two-hundred and first race this coming weekend in The Netherlands.

“Crazy, crazy day, crazy circumstances,” said Ricciardo.  “It’s lucky we don’t get these situations very often but it is what it is.

“Sorry to the fans and everyone that stayed out here all day to watch us race, they were awesome. We were really hoping to get a race and obviously it didn’t happen, but it’s no-one’s fault, it’s just the situation and circumstances today.

Toto Wolff says the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team will ‘take it on the chin’ that points were awarded in the rain-affected Belgian Grand Prix despite no racing laps being run under green flag conditions on Sunday.

The Qualifying result on Saturday that set the grid basically confirmed the points scorers on Sunday afternoon as only a handful of laps were run completely behind the safety car, with the only exception being Sergio Pérez falling to the back of the field after crashing on his way to the grid.

This meant that Lewis Hamilton was unable to better third and Valtteri Bottas twelfth, with Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing scoring points for victory, and George Russell and Williams Racing taking the points for second place.  Only half points were rewarded as less than seventy-five per cent of the race was completed.

However Wolff, the Team Principal of Mercedes, says conditions were too dangerous to allow racing to happen, and the team will take losing points to Red Bull on the chin even though they were unable to do anything about their positions due to the safety car.

“I really want to take my hat off to all the fans who were here with us over the weekend, in the wet and the cold,” said Wolff.  “And particularly during this afternoon, spending hours waiting for the race to start.

Lewis Hamilton took another podium finish in his illustrious career on Sunday afternoon in the Belgian Grand Prix, but it was not the kind of race the Briton was hoping for as heavy rain prevented any green flag running.

The Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team driver was unable to capitalise on Qualifying third as the race at Spa-Francorchamps was run completely behind the safety car, with only a handful of laps being run before the result was called with half points awarded.

Hamilton says he was disappointed for the fans who turned up to Spa-Francorchamps to see a race who were denied the chance to see any action, but the weather was unrelenting and the conditions too dangerous for racing to happen.

“Firstly, I’m really disappointed for the fans,” said Hamilton.  “It’s no one’s fault, you can’t control the weather, but the fans have been incredible today, sticking with us the whole time, holding out for a potential race, keeping their energy up and creating the atmosphere.

“They were robbed of a race today, unfortunately. I love racing in the rain, but today was something else. You couldn’t see the car ahead, there was aquaplaning, it was so, so tricky out there.

Dave Robson, the Head of Vehicle Performance at Williams Racing, admitted it was unfortunate not to see any racing during Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix, but it was another positive day for the team as they scored points with both drivers for a second consecutive race weekend.

After scoring points for the first time as a Williams driver in the Hungarian Grand Prix, George Russell was able to convert his excellent front row grid slot into a second-place finish at Spa-Francorchamps, with the Briton scoring the first podium finish of his career.  With half points being awarded, Russell scored nine points rather than the eighteen the position would usually give him.

Nicholas Latifi, fresh off the back of his first ever top ten finish at the Hungaroring, was also able to bring home his FW43B inside the points, with the Canadian taking ninth place and one point.

Robson says it was a shame that no racing could happen on Sunday, particularly for the fans who had made their way to Spa-Francorchamps to watch the event, but ultimately, the result was just reward for their impressive Qualifying performance on Saturday and the team’s hard work throughout the last few years to improve.

“Unfortunately, the conditions were just too bad today and we couldn’t complete any racing,” said Robson.  “It is a real shame for everyone involved and all those that came to watch.

George Russell stood on a Formula 1 podium for the first time in his career on Sunday, with the Briton capitalising on the weather conditions and his excellent Qualifying performance to take Williams Racing’s first podium since the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The British racer was the star of Saturday’s Qualifying session, taking an impressive second place on the grid, and when the race on Sunday was called without a single green flag lap being raced, it left Russell in second place and with nine more points to his name.

Russell admitted the conditions were ‘incredibly difficult’ on track when the cars did circulate around the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, with visibility at a minimum, and it was not surprise that the race did not get properly underway due to safety concerns.

“The conditions were incredibly difficult out there and even in second with only one car in front, sometimes I couldn’t even see Max (Verstappen) ahead,” said Russell.  “I’m really sorry for everyone at the track and those watching around the world that we couldn’t race but safety has to come first.”

Despite the circumstances surrounding the result, Russell feels Williams deserve the podium finish after three years of pain and suffering that has seen them struggle even to score points since he debuted with them back in 2019.

Jack Doohan put on the perfect display of defensive driving to take his second win of the weekend in another race that was again compromised by rain.

The Australian held off Victor Martins and Alex Smolyar, making history winning two races on the same weekend, becoming the first ever driver to do so in FIA Formula 3.

There were moments of tension throughout the race with the battle between Doohan and Martins continuing in a verbal fashion after the chequered flag was flown, Martins arguing that he’d been forced off the track when he was forced to give back the position after overtaking Doohan off the track.

Given a second chance, Doohan didn’t make any other mistakes which might allow Martins to get through keeping the lead for the rest of the race, these two victories have now cut Dennis Hauger’s lead to 25 points when it was 63 points before the weekend started.

After only managing fourteenth in qualifying, the championship leader knew that he had to make up as many positions as possible with the PREMA’S struggling with getting their tyres going throughout the race. The Norwegian made up positions to finish in eighth after briefly being stuck behind Doohan’s team-mate David Schumacher.

Jack Doohan has spiced up the FIA Formula 3 title race after slicing thirteen points off Dennis Hauger’s commanding championship lead, the Australian will be starting on pole position for the feature race and with Hauger starting low down and the PREMA’S struggling will no doubt be hoping to take even more off the Norwegian’s lead.

It was a Trident 1-2 with David Schumacher finishing in second place ahead of the Charouz of Logan Sargeant who took his second trip to the Formula 3 podium this season after his second placed championship finish in 2020. The race would finish under safety car with yet another crash at the crest of the Raidillon hill going onto the Kemmel straight this time between Amaury Cordeel and Calan Williams, with thankfully both drivers escaping unharmed.

It was a disappointing start from Alex Smolyar who fell from third position down to eighth but the benefiters from this were Ciao Collet and Clément Novalak who both moved up a position, with Frederik Vesti and Victor Martins also benefitting from this mistake from the Russian.

The afore mentioned Dennis Hauger was one of few drivers to make up a number of positions in the tricky conditions where visibility was at a minimum – making up four positions including overtaking team-mate Arthur Leclerc to finish in ninth reducing his deficit to Hauger by two points.

Contact came at the mid point of the race when the PREMA of Arthur Leclerc collided with the Jenzer of Jonathan Hoggard the result of which sent the Briton spinning round and out of contention to score any more points in the race. HWA RACELAB’S Matteo Nannini would not see the chequered flag – a spin at the bus-stop chicane ending Italian’s race and bringing out the safety car to allow the Marshall’s to clear the debris.

Christian Horner admitted it was a frustrating Sunday at Spa-Francorchamps for everyone after the Belgian Grand Prix was restricted to just a handful of laps behind the safety car before the race was called.

Max Verstappen took his sixteenth career victory on Sunday, but his win came down to the fact he took pole position on Saturday afternoon.  Sergio Pérez failed to score points after crashing on the way to the initial grid.

Horner, the Team Principal at Red Bull, said conditions were never good enough for racing to take place, and he praised everyone at FIA and Liberty Media for giving them every opportunity to race by delaying the start amid non-stop rain.

“It’s frustrating for the teams, drivers and especially the fans that we could not race today, but unfortunately the conditions meant that no matter how long we waited it was not safe to do so,” said Horner.

“Everybody did their best to try and put a race on and credit must go to the FIA and Liberty who did everything within their power and waited until it became impossible.

Max Verstappen took his sixteenth career Formula 1 victory in Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix, but the way he happened was not the way the Dutchman wanted it to.

Heavy rain at Spa-Francorchamps prevented any green flag running, with the race only being run to the minimum distance behind the safety car.  This meant by taking pole position on Saturday afternoon, the Red Bull Racing driver was able to take the win with his only concern being the need to stay on the extremely wet track.

Verstappen felt there was a small window to get some action, but once that window passed without getting on track, it was always going to be difficult to get some racing action in.  And in the end, only half points were awarded even if the race was run completely behind the safety car.

“It is always good to win and the points are important but today is not how anyone wants to do it, especially on our 50th start with Honda,” said Verstappen.  “In hindsight it was very important to get pole yesterday and although it’s a big shame not to do some proper racing laps, as I really love coming to this track, it was just impossible in these conditions.

“I thought maybe at 15:30 the conditions were a bit better than just now when we tried to re-start but the visibility was still very low and I understand why we couldn’t race today.

Adam Morgan went through three safety car periods through the latest BTCC finale at Thruxton but this still couldn’t prevent him finishing top of the pile fending off Team BMW driver, Colin Turkington throughout the race.

Morgan and Turkington were both selected to score manufacturer points with BMW over the course of the weekend and it was the former who took advantage to claim a second reverse grid win of the season.

Various incidents took place including involving Jade Edwards who like last time out at the circuit was off at the first corner into the wall after tangling with Gordon Shedden who managed to limp back to the pits.

The damage sustained saw an extended safety car period while Edwards’ car was retrieved but further incidents involving Ollie Jackson, Carl Boardley and Sam Smelt meant the race was halted further but Morgan got the restart correct each time.

Morgan did have a scare towards the end as he out-braked himself through the final chicane which meant an off track run where he had to slow down as he seemingly gained the advantage. But the Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport driver remained unscathed finishing ahead of Turkington and Senna Proctor.

Max Verstappen won a curtailed wet-race at the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix  with half-points awarded for the race. After a delayed start, the race was suspended. Then after the race resumed after two laps behind the Safety Car, the race was red-flagged again.

George Russell finished in second position for the first podium of his career. Lewis Hamilton finished in third position. The laps completed behind the Safety Car led to a race classification with half-points awarded to the top ten drivers.

The race started under wet and rainy conditions at the iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium. Max Verstappen started in pole position with George Russell joining him on the first row. The championship leader Lewis Hamilton was on the second row with Daniel Ricciardo.

Sebastian Vettel and Pierre Gasly were on the third row. Esteban Ocon, Charles Leclerc and Nicholas Latifi started at the sharp end of the grid.

Sergio Pérez slid into the barriers on the installation lap and did not start the race. Kimi Räikkönen started from the pit lane after a change to the rear-wing.

Reigning BTCC champion Ashley Sutton has cemented his hopes for a third Drivers’ Championship crown with victory during Race Two at Thruxton as he moves 36 points ahead of Tom Ingram as the second half of the season continues.

Sutton looked ominous in Race One and made up four places to surge past ballast laden Josh Cook who finished second ahead of Tom Oliphant with late drama derailing Tom Ingram as a puncture on the last lap saw him lose ground and places rapidly.

To start the race, Cook led off the line as Oliphant dived past Hill into second place but it was Sutton with most of his success ballast stripped that was looking ominous. Hill and Butcher battled it out and Sutton as usual was there to pounce to steal third.

Next up was Oliphant and he dived past the Team BMW driver and set his sights on Cook looking for yet another race win.

As Lap 8/16 began, Sutton was reeling in Cook reducing the gap further below a second as he looked to be defensive to hold position before the Infiniti Q50 would pounce with full ballast on the Honda Civic.