Max Verstappen didn’t hold back about the FIA’s rain delay at the Belgian Grand Prix. The Dutch driver had gambled on a wet setup, only to watch officials wait until the track was completely dry before starting the race.
“There’s a lot more spray coming from these cars than from the older ones,” Verstappen explained. “Because of the big tyres, a lot more water is splashed around.”
He thought officials were being way too careful at Spa.
“I personally thought this was too cautious,” he said, while acknowledging Silverstone was “probably on the edge” for racing conditions.
The three-time world champion raised an interesting point about driver responsibility in poor visibility.
“If there’s a lot of spray and you can’t see much, you can also lift off and just keep a bit more distance if you’re not sure where you’re going.”
According to Verstappen, the biggest crashes happen when drivers keep pushing despite not being able to see.
“The most severe crashes usually happen because people don’t lift off when they can’t see anything, but keep pressing the accelerator,” he explained.
He admitted not everyone would agree with his take.
“Some drivers would say exactly the opposite of what I’m saying now.”
## Max was really looking forward to rain race in Spa-Francorchamps
Verstappen believes fans missed out on what could have been an epic battle in the rain.
“I think Spa could have been a fantastic rain race,” he said. “If you look back at the history of Formula 1, there were great races in the rain. I feel that we rarely see such races nowadays.”
The Red Bull driver made it clear he values the authentic challenge of racing in difficult conditions.
“I just look at it as a real race.”
While acknowledging safety concerns, Verstappen suggested the pendulum has swung too far toward caution in modern F1.
“Of course, I understand that safety is important, but sometimes it’s also in the hands of the driver whether you keep it safe or not. And if it’s only safe in almost dry conditions, that’s something we really need to look at,” he concluded.
His comments come ahead of this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, where teams will be hoping for more straightforward weather conditions.
