Poll: Belgian Grand Prix 2021, Spa-Francorchamps - Race 12

[CaptainRAVE]

But Alonso, Norris and Vettel saying that no points should be given is absolutely fine though?

It was a complete travesty to even call this a race. Hell, even calling it an event is pushing it.

Indeed and several team bosses too. They don’t give out points for qualifying. The laps completed were under the safety car. So in essence the points were as a result of qualifying. It’s a pretty stupid rule that allows this.

 

[SKILL]

It'd be hilarious if it ends up not counting as a race, cause it's not enough of a farce already

George Russell should now beat his teammate this year at least...

 

[pimper]

I wonder if F1 and Masi could take a look at how things are done in the Endurance side of the sport? Prototypes are just as fast as F1 in most cases and can have just as big an impact against a wall etc. yet we see a completely different take on red flags, track safety and general race direction. As someone who watches both WEC and F1 its crazy to see the difference between the two formula's and how its run, given that the cars generally have the similar speeds on straights and in corners. I can't think of any WEC race thats ever been red flagged, not even for fatal crashes i.e. Simonsen at Le Mans, or non fatals such as McNish, let alone for rain.. looking at how Freitas runs the show for WEC vs Masi for F1 its baffling the differences. Can't help but think that if it was WEC running at Spa today instead of F1, the fans would have seen a race.

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

The list of things ? Few of the teams suggested they could handle it without issue
As people have said it’s the 2 laps to fulfil the race and financial obligation’s which leaves a sour taste.

Have you ever been involved in organising an event with the public? I have, far smaller (800-1000 people a night) than an F1 event, and if I was asked to extend it for another day with less than 24 hours notice, no chance. Just event staffing alone would been a major problem.

Sure, the teams would have no problem to stay on, they can ask the staff to hang about, its their job, and sort of expected to be hiccups and flexibility is in the contract...
But lets think about everyone else..

TV - Pundits, editors, camera operators, technical staff, infrastructure, hotel bookings/catering
Circuit - Security, Marshalls, Crane operators, Helicopter pilots, medical staff, catering, car park staff, admin staff
Event - Attendee catering, Water supplies, toilets, portable power supplies, marquees, grandstand/seat hire
Local infrastructure - Road closures, diversions/etc
FIA - Support staff, technical delegates, stewards/etc
Countless other areas I have no doubt overlooked

Its a hell of a circus to mess about with at short notice, not to mention just make sure the people you need are actually available, and then if not, you need to fly in replacements/alternatives for anyone who is unable. Brundle was on his motorbike heading back to the tunnel minutes after the show ended for example. This will be the same for countless other people who have busy lives/schedules/families to attend to.

Also even if it all pans out, who pays for it all? How, credit cards/POs/credit line? Hotels/catering/etc wont just take bookings without payment at short notice! Can you secure the food/water supplies needed in less than 24 hours? If you simply fail to rebook the second medical chopper, you can't race, for example..

There is a reason why events like this take months to organise and run, they are tightly scheduled, complicated and unwieldy.

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

I wonder if F1 and Masi could take a look at how things are done in the Endurance side of the sport? Prototypes are just as fast as F1 in most cases and can have just as big an impact against a wall etc. yet we see a completely different take on red flags, track safety and general race direction. As someone who watches both WEC and F1 its crazy to see the difference between the two formula's and how its run, given that the cars generally have the similar speeds on straights and in corners. I can't think of any WEC race thats ever been red flagged, not even for fatal crashes i.e. Simonsen at Le Mans, or non fatals such as McNish, let alone for rain.. looking at how Freitas runs the show for WEC vs Masi for F1 its baffling the differences. Can't help but think that if it was WEC running at Spa today instead of F1, the fans would have seen a race.

LMP1 (iirc) cars have significantly less HP, 4wd, windscreens, wipers, lights (headlights, tail lights, brake lights and rain light). Also, they do have the same problems still, it took me a couple of minutes to find that they had to run a shorter program due to rain in Shanghai in 2018, and had numerous red flags in the same race:

https://traveldestinations.co.uk/motorsports-news/fiawec-6hrs-shanghai/

 

[pimper]

LMP1 (iirc) cars have significantly less HP, 4wd, windscreens, wipers, lights (headlights, tail lights, brake lights and rain light). Also, they do have the same problems still, it took me a couple of minutes to find that they had to run a shorter program due to rain in Shanghai in 2018, and had numerous red flags in the same race:

https://traveldestinations.co.uk/motorsports-news/fiawec-6hrs-shanghai/

Old LMP1 cars with their ICE and Electric motors were kicking out around 1000hp on full chat. I'd say that F1 would have still edged them out in top speed etc. Now that you mention it Shanghai was an anomaly in my mind, and still not entirely sure why they red flagged it etc. from the races i've seen especially Le Mans, Freitas does his level best to not bring out a red flag or do anything to stop a race. FCY (Full course yellows) SZ (Slow Zones) have all shown to work amazingly well for WEC, same with the VSC for F1. Perhaps that could have been a viable option? Have an SC go out for a couple of banker laps with the cars in toe, then put them onto a VSC where they could go abit faster to at least allow the wets to kick up the water and shift it off the track, then once things cleared get them racing?

 

[413x]

Meh

Fans should get a partial refund.
Race should never have been started
It was fair to wait and see of the weather changed.

Points awarded? If those are the rules those are the rules. But shouldn't have been started


Glad I waited for the C4 highlights.

 

[Emlyn_Dewar]

Woke up and checked what happened with the race yesterday...
Points awarded for that? lol

Wonder what the next farce will be? They do love them in F1.

 

[wildman]

Devils advocate...

But what did they buy tickets for? Two of the three scheduled races took place on the day...

thats a poor argument. If you bought tickets to see the FA cup final at wembly, and the pre final games were an exhibition match between the glue factory over 60 reserves and the meat packers union, and the main event was Man City V Man Utd, but that never happened because of <insert some reason> would you be happy saying yeah, but no, but yeah it's ok i saw football. This is pure greed by FIA, every single fan that bought a ticket at face value should get a full refund. For anyone to say, no they say some racing, seriously, stay off the drugs. There is no way any of those drivers should be awarded any points period.

The race shoul dhave been abdandoned at around 3pm when it was obvious there was no safe way of having an actual competitive race, and they shoul dhave then either added it to the end of the calendar or slipped it in between 2 other races where they have a 2 week break, or just written it of entirely and taken the financail hit. If F1 can't afford to miss one race from the calendar due to having to refund the fans their ticket prices then it's clear they have no business putting the specatcle on in the first place. It's an absolute mockery and a **** take and using lines like well the die hard fans were there and they saw something is basically akin to giving some one a massive black mamba up the exhaust pipe when they aren't looking with it in full vibrate mode............

Meh

Fans should get a partial refund.
Race should never have been started
It was fair to wait and see of the weather changed.

Points awarded? If those are the rules those are the rules. But shouldn't have been started


Glad I waited for the C4 highlights.

Partial my arse. it should be full. They waited for the weather as they were just chancers, from 3pm onwards it was painfully obvious no actual racing was ever going to happen. They shoul dhave just called it, but they are too greedy and didn't want to even think about the possiblity of having to give people their money back. **** like this is what makes the average motrosport fan more likely to not watch their **** shows anymore.

The only reason hamilton is saying anything is because Verstappen basically got a free catch up in the championship. If hamilton was sat on pole today he would more than likely be saying it was the fairest outcome bla bla bla and you wouldn't hear a peep about fans getting a refund from him. If he is that bothered lets see him rach into his pocket of millions and fork out refunds for all those fans he feels so sorry for, same for verstappen and any other dirver that is bleating on about it. Appart from maybe Mazepin becasue based on how often he crashes his car he probably should be paying Haas for all the repair work that is needed after every race he has.

 

[cu3ed]

The only reason hamilton is saying anything is because Verstappen basically got a free catch up in the championship. If hamilton was sat on pole today he would more than likely be saying it was the fairest outcome bla bla bla and you wouldn't hear a peep about fans getting a refund from him. If he is that bothered lets see him rach into his pocket of millions and fork out refunds for all those fans he feels so sorry for, same for verstappen and any other dirver that is bleating on about it. Appart from maybe Mazepin becasue based on how often he crashes his car he probably should be paying Haas for all the repair work that is needed after every race he has.

Didn't see Ham say anything about points, just Alonso... Ham just about refunds lol, the hate towards Ham is hilarious now. Just people making up reasons to hate on him. If Ham was on pole and got all the points I bet you their would be 100o times more of an outcry about him getting them.

 

[englishpremier]

Have you ever been involved in organising an event with the public? I have, far smaller (800-1000 people a night) than an F1 event, and if I was asked to extend it for another day with less than 24 hours notice, no chance. Just event staffing alone would been a major problem.

Sure, the teams would have no problem to stay on, they can ask the staff to hang about, its their job, and sort of expected to be hiccups and flexibility is in the contract...
But lets think about everyone else..

TV - Pundits, editors, camera operators, technical staff, infrastructure, hotel bookings/catering
Circuit - Security, Marshalls, Crane operators, Helicopter pilots, medical staff, catering, car park staff, admin staff
Event - Attendee catering, Water supplies, toilets, portable power supplies, marquees, grandstand/seat hire
Local infrastructure - Road closures, diversions/etc
FIA - Support staff, technical delegates, stewards/etc
Countless other areas I have no doubt overlooked

Its a hell of a circus to mess about with at short notice, not to mention just make sure the people you need are actually available, and then if not, you need to fly in replacements/alternatives for anyone who is unable. Brundle was on his motorbike heading back to the tunnel minutes after the show ended for example. This will be the same for countless other people who have busy lives/schedules/families to attend to.

Also even if it all pans out, who pays for it all? How, credit cards/POs/credit line? Hotels/catering/etc wont just take bookings without payment at short notice! Can you secure the food/water supplies needed in less than 24 hours? If you simply fail to rebook the second medical chopper, you can't race, for example..

There is a reason why events like this take months to organise and run, they are tightly scheduled, complicated and unwieldy.

You know it's been done before in high profile sports right?

 

[Jimbeam3678]

Have you ever been involved in organising an event with the public? I have, far smaller (800-1000 people a night) than an F1 event, and if I was asked to extend it for another day with less than 24 hours notice, no chance. Just event staffing alone would been a major problem.

Sure, the teams would have no problem to stay on, they can ask the staff to hang about, its their job, and sort of expected to be hiccups and flexibility is in the contract...
But lets think about everyone else..

TV - Pundits, editors, camera operators, technical staff, infrastructure, hotel bookings/catering
Circuit - Security, Marshalls, Crane operators, Helicopter pilots, medical staff, catering, car park staff, admin staff
Event - Attendee catering, Water supplies, toilets, portable power supplies, marquees, grandstand/seat hire
Local infrastructure - Road closures, diversions/etc
FIA - Support staff, technical delegates, stewards/etc
Countless other areas I have no doubt overlooked

Its a hell of a circus to mess about with at short notice, not to mention just make sure the people you need are actually available, and then if not, you need to fly in replacements/alternatives for anyone who is unable. Brundle was on his motorbike heading back to the tunnel minutes after the show ended for example. This will be the same for countless other people who have busy lives/schedules/families to attend to.

Also even if it all pans out, who pays for it all? How, credit cards/POs/credit line? Hotels/catering/etc wont just take bookings without payment at short notice! Can you secure the food/water supplies needed in less than 24 hours? If you simply fail to rebook the second medical chopper, you can't race, for example..

There is a reason why events like this take months to organise and run, they are tightly scheduled, complicated and unwieldy.

You know it's been done before in high profile sports right?

That’s an impressive list, money can and has in the past solved all of those.
It’s a poor argument and excuse to use those as a reason to not postpone.

At a time when F1 is in a tricky place from a viewer perspective maybe F1 as a family should have taken one for the team and seen the larger picture with regards to its long term future?

 

[cuke2u]

Seeing as Hamilton is so keen for the fans to have a refund maybe, as he was one if the many drivers who stated the conditions made it impossible to race in, the refunds should come from the drivers pockets? Such hypocrisy and maybe he should just shut up.
Money does talk Lewis, it keeps you in your lifestyle that you enjoy so much!!!

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

You know it's been done before in high profile sports right?

Yes, I am sure that some time in history, some other event managed it. In current F1 the chances are impossible to vanishingly small.

That’s an impressive list, money can and has in the past solved all of those.
It’s a poor argument and excuse to use those as a reason to not postpone.

At a time when F1 is in a tricky place from a viewer perspective maybe F1 as a family should have taken one for the team and seen the larger picture with regards to its long term future?

It's not about "taking one for the team"! If you think yeaterday was a farce, I would put my house on a sub 24 hour delayed Monday GP being many magnitudes worse for all the reasons stated above, and it simply would not appease many fans at all, especially if they could not actually attend a Monday GP, when actually running a race was less likely that it was yesterday

 

[Jimbeam3678]

Yes, I am sure that some time in history, some other event managed it. In current F1 the chances are impossible to vanishingly small.



It's not about "taking one for the team"! If you think yeaterday was a farce, I would put my house on a sub 24 hour delayed Monday GP being many magnitudes worse for all the reasons stated above, and it simply would not appease many fans at all, especially if they could not actually attend a Monday GP, when actually running a race was less likely that it was yesterday

When I was talking about the fans it wasn’t just people in the stands. It’s about F1’s image, perception, complex rules casual fans don’t get, 2 laps to appease the bean counters. Either reschedule, postpone or make it null and void.

Quick look at the weather suggests sunshine for race time today. My point is yesterdays result, pleased no one and almost certainly tarnished F1’s already tarnished image. There is enough money and intelligence in F1 to come up with a more satisfying outcome than yesterdays.

It’s ok to disagree, my point is yesterday was farce and further damages F1. Having followed it for over 30 years that makes me sad.

 

[chrismscotland]

Lewis now suggesting F1 should find a slot to put on a "free" race in Belgium.... there are still a couple of empty calendar slots.....

 

[kitfit1]

Lewis now suggesting F1 should find a slot to put on a "free" race in Belgium.... there are still a couple of empty calendar slots.....

There are a couple of empty slots, but let's face it, by then the weather at Spa will be even more unpredictable than it was yesterday.

 

[bayo000]

I always thought the Hungarian GP and SPA should be swapped in the calendar.

 

[Yaayuh!]

There are a couple of empty slots, but let's face it, by then the weather at Spa will be even more unpredictable than it was yesterday.

Indeed. A nice idea but in reality it’s unlikely to work.

 

[pimper]

Seeing as Hamilton is so keen for the fans to have a refund maybe, as he was one if the many drivers who stated the conditions made it impossible to race in, the refunds should come from the drivers pockets? Such hypocrisy and maybe he should just shut up.
Money does talk Lewis, it keeps you in your lifestyle that you enjoy so much!!!

Ahh the old, because F1 drivers are loaded, make them pay, even though they have no say whatsoever in the running of the event...