The 2021 Belgian Grand Prix was won by Max Verstappen of Red Bull.
The race in Belgium was round 12 of 22 of the 2021 season.
Weather conditions at 29 August 2021 13:00 GMT (raceday).
The 2021 Belgian Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Rolex Belgian Grand Prix 2021) was a Formula One motor race held on 29 August 2021 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. It was the twelfth round of the 2021 Formula One World Championship. The race was also the 77th overall running of the Belgian Grand Prix, the 66th time the event was run as part of the Formula One World Championship, and the 54th World Championship Belgian Grand Prix held at the Spa circuit. The race was won by Max Verstappen, ahead of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton.
The race was planned to run for 44 laps, but ended during the third lap due to wet conditions. Laps one and two took place behind the safety car before a red flag stopped the race on lap three. The sporting regulations required the results be taken from the end of lap one, with half points given to drivers who finished in the top 10 positions as less than 75% of the originally scheduled race distance had been completed.
As of 2023, it holds the record for the shortest Formula One World Championship race in terms of distance (6.880 km (4.275 mi)) and number of laps raced (1). This beats the previous short distance record of 52.920 km (32.883 mi) set at the 1991 Australian Grand Prix and the fewest laps record, 12, set at the 1971 German Grand Prix. The race was also marked the first time since the 2009 Malaysian Grand Prix that half points were awarded, the sixth time this occurred in Formula One, regulation changes for the 2022 season meant that half-points could no longer be awarded in subsequent seasons. The decision to run two laps behind the safety car and red flagging the race on lap three stirred much controversy. The FIA and then race director Michael Masi were criticised by media, fans, teams and drivers for their decision-making during the weekend, and particularly on race day.
The race is the only World Championship race not to have any running under full green flag conditions. This led commentators to question the validity and sporting integrity of officially classifying and awarding points when the only laps completed were behind the safety car. Some commentators and competitors accused Formula One of putting commercial interests above those of paying spectators and fans in general by not abandoning the event with no race result, and not giving spectators a partial ticket refund. Other commentators and competitors felt the awarding of half points was justified to reward competitors who had qualified well, even if the race scenario was not ideal.
In response to the negative reactions, the sport set about finding suitable methods of preventing a repeat scenario. It was decided to change the sporting regulations, which from 2022 onwards state a race must involve a minimum of two laps under green flag without a safety car or virtual safety car for points to be awarded. Subsequent changes in point structure for shortened races from 2022 meant that reduced points would be awarded to fewer drivers (depending on distance covered) in cases where a race ends under a red flag. Following confusion over how points were awarded at the subsequent 2022 Japanese Grand Prix this regulation was tweaked further for 2023 to ensure that amount of points allocated purely based on percentage distance raced irrespective of whether a race finishes under red or green flag conditions. Additionally, since 2022, Formula One has been exploring how to improve the raceability of cars in wet conditions in an attempt to reduce the need for safety cars and red flags in wet conditions. In 2023 Pirelli announced they have introduced a new Full Wet tyre compound to improve racing conditions during wet conditions, not requiring tire blankets.
source: Wikipedia
While the FIA and F1 race director Michael Masi have been commended for not pushing on and allowing racing in the dangerous wet conditions at Spa on Sunday, there is unease about the way a result was declared and points handed out after just three laps behind a safety car.World champion Lewis Hamilton was one of many drivers to express his unhappiness about the situation, suggesting F1 had put ...
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Going into the Belgian Grand Prix, McLaren?s Mika Hakkinen led the championship by seven points, with only Ferrari?s Michael Schumacher and David Coulthard (Hakkinen?s teammate) still in title contention with him.There was drama right from the start, as Coulthard crashed in soaking wet conditions, sparking a huge multi-car shunt on the downhill run towards Eau Rouge that took out 13 cars ...
Conditions were better earlier in the day, when both the FIA F3 and Porsche Supercup races were successfully completed, albeit on a wet track.However, after intermittent showers in the morning, the rain then set in without a break from lunchtime onwards, leading to the delay of the scheduled 3pm start of the Grand Prix. It eventually officially got underway at 6.17pm behind the safety car ...
The Swiss outfit was one of the big losers from the way that half points were awarded for the small number of laps that were completed behind the safety car as rain hit Spa-Francorchamps.Its mains rival in the constructors' championship, Williams, managed to take away 10 points from proceedings, with George Russell being classified second and Nicholas Latifi taking ninth. That double score ...
With bad weather at Spa-Francorchamps making it too dangerous for cars to race, F1 drivers were only able to complete some slow laps behind the safety car before the event was called off.However, the two full laps and one lap into the pits were enough for the official result to be declared and half points handed out.It is a situation that has left many within F1 unhappy, and it has emerged ...
Red Bull's Max Verstappen was declared the winner of Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix despite completing just two official laps behind the safety car, meeting the minimum requirement for points to be awarded.Verstappen scored 12.5 points for the win, taking five points out of Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton's lead at the top of the drivers' championship. Hamilton was classified third at Spa, meaning ...
With heavy rain leaving F1 unable to run the Belgian Grand Prix properly, there has been some debate about whether changes to the cars should be considered to prevent repeat problems in the future.There has long been intrigue about whether there are car tweaks ? such as higher ride heights, different tyres or wheel covers ? that could allow races to go ahead in treacherous weather.But ...
Torrential rain and severe delays reduced the Spa race, typically one of the highlights of the season, to a two-lap procession behind the safety car, thus satisfying the requirement to award half points and declare a result for an affair one would not want to dignify by referring to as a true "race".It was a difficult day for F1, one where it faced challenges posed by a factor that was ...
Norris disagrees with the principle of points being handed out with no proper racing laps completed, while acknowledging that the six earned by his McLaren teammate Daniel Ricciardo for fourth place were useful in the ongoing battle with Ferrari.Norris had a shot pole at Spa having been fastest in Q1 and Q2 on Saturday, before crashing in Q3.That left him in 10th place, before a gearbox ...
After a long delay due to the wet conditions the event eventually started behind the safety car, but it was then stopped after just three laps. That was enough to ensure that half World Championship points could be awarded to the top 10.Some observers have suggested that F1 wanted the race to officially start in order to ensure that the commercial deal with the Spa promoter was fulfilled, and ...
With it having long been known that F1 drivers need to finish at least two laps for half points to be handed out, the fact the Belgian GP result was classified after just one lap left some wondering if the Spa race had actually fallen short.F1's points system in the event of a shortened race is laid out in the Sporting Regulations, where it states the distances that must be completed for ...
Heavy rain in the hours leading up to lights out at Spa resulted in the start being delayed by 25 minutes, after which a handful of formation laps were completed behind the safety car before the race was red-flagged.A wait of almost three hours followed, with little change in the levels of rain hitting the circuit, before a window emerged for the field to get out on track behind the safety ...
Heavy rain delayed the start of Sunday's race at Spa and a wait of almost three hours under a red flag before the safety car was able to lead the field out of the pit lane after 6pm.The field completed two laps behind the safety car, making the grand prix official and ensuring that a result could be declared, before the red flag returned and officials announced the race would not ...
The Briton had qualified a brilliant second for the race at Spa-Francorchamps and, with only two laps being conducted behind the safety car due to the rain, he kept that spot without any challenge.Although the best result of his F1 career came without any laps of racing, Russell said that it was still a more than worthy achievement considering what he and Williams achieved earlier in the ...
Verstappen was declared the winner of Sunday's race at Spa after just two laps could be completed behind the safety car due to heavy rain throughout the afternoon.Officials managed to get the laps completed to ensure that the race could be declared official and a classification could be issued, awarding half points by surpassing the two-lap threshold. It is the shortest race in F1 history to ...
The start of the race was delayed due to a rain storm, and Sergio Perez didn't even make it that far after crashing as he drove to the grid.Following two attempts behind the safety car, the race was red-flagged after the minimum of two laps required to make the result official. As the race clock ran down to under 30 minutes remaining, race director Michael Masi eventually made the call that ...
Following a rain-affected qualifying on Saturday, showers continued to hit the Spa region throughout Sunday in the build-up to the start of the race.Race control announced shortly before the planned race start at 1500 local time that formation laps would be completed behind the safety car, and pushed the start of this out to 1525.The field completed two full formation laps, but with most ...
Perez looked set to miss the race after crashing during his first lap to the grid, hitting the barrier on the right-hand side of the track at Les Combes after losing control in wet conditions.Red Bull sporting director Jonathan Wheatley informed race director Michael Masi that Perez would not be racing, only for the start to be suspended after two full laps behind the safety car due to heavy ...
The Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix is under a red flag after completing three laps behind the safety car in heavy rain.After Saturday's rain-hit qualifying, heavy showers continued throughout Sunday morning, making for treacherous conditions as drivers completed their laps to the grid.Race control announced in the lead-up to the planned start of the race at 1500 local time at Spa that the ...
Red Bull driver Perez had been due to start from seventh on the grid, but lost control of his car while going through Les Combes during his reconnaissance laps ahead of the race.Perez crashed front first into the barrier on the right-hand side of the circuit, leaving the car with significant damage to the front suspension.Red Bull sporting director Jonathan Wheatley informed race director ...
Like most teams, Mercedes opted to run different wing levels on its cars during practice on Friday to try to find the right compromise between straight-line speed and downforce for the long Spa circuit.With rain falling in the lead-up to qualifying on Saturday afternoon, teams faced a difficult call on whether to lean more towards the conditions or to still plan for a dry race on ...
Williams driver Russell will line up second on the grid for the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix behind polesitter Max Verstappen and ahead of Lewis Hamilton after stunning the Q3 field in qualifying on Saturday.Russell's lap of 2m00.086s in the final moments of qualifying put him on provisional pole, with only Verstappen able to better his time.The Briton had originally left the pits following the ...
Sainz finished the wet Q2 session in 13th place, two places behind teammate Charles Leclerc, although both men will gain positions on the final grid due to penalties for Valtteri Bottas and Lando Norris.Both drivers reported that they had struggled for grip, and they had no explanation for why that had been such an issue.Sainz was particularly frustrated as he had expected to gain from wet ...
Norris suffered a high-speed crash at Eau Rouge after spinning off in wet conditions at the start of Q3, resulting in him being taken to hospital for a precautionary x-ray on his left elbow.While Norris has since been cleared to race by the FIA medical delegate, his car was left with significant damage that left McLaren with a sizeable repair job to complete overnight.Motorsport.com ...
Red Bull announced on Friday afternoon that Perez would be remaining with the team for next season after agreeing a one-year extension to his contract.While the news was largely expected, it was nevertheless significant as it marks the first time since 2018 that Red Bull will have the same driver line-up that it started the previous campaign with.Perez has scored one race win and one ...
On an F1 weekend where safety at the Belgian Grand Prix?s most famous corner has come under the spotlight, McLaren?s Ricciardo has joined the chorus of drivers urging changes to be made.And with Spa chiefs having already outlined renovation work that will include revisions to the barriers and run-offs at the Eau Rouge/Raidillon complex, Ricciardo says there is no doubt that something has ...
2021 marks 20 years since Alboreto, a five-time F1 grand prix winner with over 200 starts, died at the age of 44 during a sportscar test at the Lausitzring in Germany.To honour the anniversary, the Automobile Club d'Italia took the unanimous decision to rename Monza's famous Parabolica final corner after Alboreto.The final corner of the circuit will now be known as the "Curva Alboreto" ...
Unpredictable wet weather for this weekend?s Belgian Grand Prix has complicated matters for the drivers regarding the typical downforce-level balance needed to set the fastest times through Spa?s long, straight-heavy first and final third, and the more technical middle sector. Motorsport.com sources suggested after practice on Friday that with the difficulty of predicting when it ...
Red Bull's Max Verstappen starts the race from pole position ahead of Williams driver George Russell, who starred in Saturday's qualifying to claim a spot on the front row.Championship leader Lewis Hamilton will line up third in the lead Mercedes, with McLaren's Daniel Ricciardo joining him on the second row.Ricciardo's teammate Lando Norris suffered a huge shunt in the final part of ...
Norris was fastest in both Q1 and Q2 before he hit the barrier at the top of Raidillon at the start of a soaking wet Q3 session, which Aston Martin's Sebastien Vettel had moments earlier said should have been stopped due to standing water.The incident brought out a red flag and led to a long delay while Norris was taken to hospital for checks, including an x-ray on his elbow. He has been ...
Russell made it through to Q3 for the third time in four races in the wet conditions, and was forced to pit to switch to intermediates early in the final session after starting on wets.But Russell opted to save up his engine power and modes for his final lap in Q3, and lit up the timesheets to take provisional pole by 0.013 seconds from Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton.A fairytale pole was ...
Following the fatal accident suffered by Anthoine Hubert in a Formula 2 race in 2019, there has been a growing debate about safety at Spa-Francorchamps' famous uphill sweepers in the wake of recent incidents there.Williams F1 reserve Jack Aitken's smash in a Lamborghini GT3 car at the Spa 24 Hours, a six-car pile-up in W Series qualifying on Friday and Norris's qualifying shunt have all served ...
Mercedes is yet to reveal whether Russell will be promoted from Williams to drive alongside Hamilton next season, or if it will choose to keep Valtteri Bottas on for what would be a sixth straight year with an unchanged driver line-up since Nico Rosberg's shock departure at the end of 2016.Russell and Bottas remained tight-lipped on progress regarding Mercedes' decision when F1 reconvened for ...
Mercedes has been considering for a number of months who will partner Lewis Hamilton next season, having agreed a new two-year deal with the seven-time world champion earlier this year.Bottas has raced for Mercedes since 2017 and helped the team win four constructors' championships, but could be replaced for next year by Russell, who has starred during his time with Williams and is a member of ...
In the final Q3 shootout, which was run in very wet conditions, Norris lost control of his McLaren through Eau Rouge as his car appeared to aquaplane off the track.Norris made heavy sideways contact with the tyre wall at the top of the Raidillon, a high-speed impact which destroyed both ends of the cars and sent him spinning back onto the track.Norris was soon able to step out of the car ...
The McLaren driver had topped both Q1 and Q2 in the wet conditions that had prompted a late start to Saturday afternoon's action.But as the rain increased at the start of Q3, Norris was caught out by aquaplaning through Eau Rouge as he went for his first flying lap.The British driver tried to correct his slide but speared off into the barriers on the left-hand side and impacted the tyre ...
McLaren driver Norris crashed heavily at Eau Rouge after spinning during his first flying lap in Q3, resulting in a red flag and a 40-minute suspension of the session.Norris walked away from the crash, but has since been taken to hospital for a precautionary x-ray of his left elbow after he was seen holding his left arm.Vettel had told his Aston Martin team just moments earlier over team ...
Verstappen will start ahead of Russell and world champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes after the one-hour qualifying session, which was twice delayed due to rain and to clear away Norris's wrecked car.Read Also:Belgian GP: Verstappen denies Russell shock F1 poleBelgian Grand Prix qualifying results: Verstappen on pole from ...
Lewis Hamilton completed the top three, with Valtteri Bottas down in eighth in the second Mercedes.Rain intensifying ahead of Q3 meant conditions switched back to the drivers needing full wets, after the intermediates had been the tyres of choice in Q1 and Q2.Norris, who had set the fastest times in Q1 and Q2, reported some aquaplaning on his Q3 out-lap, where Sebastian Vettel, following ...
Rain had been falling at various periods throughout qualifying at Spa, with wet and intermediate tyres being used throughout Q1 and Q2.A downpour began in the break just before Q3 started, prompting McLaren driver Norris to switch to wet tyres as he lined up at the end of the pit lane.Norris reported on his out-lap that he was aquaplaning at points due to the wet weather, while Aston ...
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