Lewis Hamilton has criticised the FIA’s cautious handling of the wet conditions at the Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix, attributing the lengthy delay to an overreaction following the controversial start procedure at Silverstone in the previous race.
The race at Spa-Francorchamps was delayed by over an hour due to the poor visibility amid treacherous conditions.
However, that didn’t stop some drivers from hitting out at race control for the lack of urgency to get the Grand Prix underway, including the seven-time World Champion.
Hamilton recovered from a pit lane start and a poor qualifying session to finish seventh with an impressive charge through the field.
Yet, speaking after the race, he could not hold back his discontent with the handling of the start of the race.
“We obviously started the race a little too late, I would say,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“I kept shouting, it’s ready to go, it’s ready to go. And they kept going round and round and round.
“So I think they were probably overreacting from the last race — where we asked them not to restart the race too early because visibility was bad.
“I think this weekend, they just made it a bit too much the other way. Because we didn’t need a rolling start.”
The Ferrari driver was referring to the British Grand Prix, where the FIA opted for an earlier start than many drivers would have preferred, following the formation lap taking place behind the Safety Car.
But this weekend, drivers like Max Verstappen voiced a different concern, arguing that there will “never be classic wet races” if the FIA continues to halt racing in wet conditions.
Hamilton echoed Verstappen’s sentiment, adding when asked if he would have liked the race to start sooner: “Yeah, my car was set up for [the wet-weather racing conditions] as well. They waited for it to dry.”
Hamilton on standing start feasibility and wet race caution at Spa
Hamilton was later asked if a standing start had been feasible despite the wet conditions.
“Yeah, definitely could have done a standing start. Especially at the end there,” he replied.
“It was almost a dry line. It was hot in the spray. So definitely could have done it.”
He also explained that the cautious approach at Spa was influenced not only by Silverstone but also by the concerns of drivers at the front, expressing disappointment with the governing body’s handling of the situation that led to the race being red-flagged.
“I think it was just a reaction to Silverstone — we sat down and spoke about it — and the drivers said in the last race we shouldn’t have restarted,” Hamilton said.
“So I think they just focused on visibility — as soon as someone said visibility up ahead was really bad, which it wasn’t great, but it wasn’t as bad as the last race.
“And I think they just waited to be sure. I think they still did a good job. Of course, we missed some of the extreme wet racing, which I think would have been nice.
“But for some reason, the spray here this year is like going through fog. I don’t know what we’re going to do to try and fix that.”
READ MORE — F1 Belgian GP start delayed due to heavy rain at Spa
