@Max33Verstappen takes #BelgianGP victory in shortest race in #F1 history.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took victory of the shortened Belgian GP after non-stop heavy rain impacted proceedings at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.

Following a rain-affected qualifying on Saturday, rain continued to hit the Stavelot region throughout Sunday in the build-up to the Grand Prix.

Race control announced before the planned race start at 15:00pm local time that formation laps would be behind the safety car and pushed the start to 15:25pm.

The pack completed two formation laps, but the majority of drivers reported reduced visibility and lack of grip, and the Grand Prix was red flagged at 15:30pm and all drivers returned to the pits.

A long delay followed, and with the thick band of rain showing no sign of clearing and the time ticking down from the start of the three-hour window at 15:00pm, the chances of running a race to award full points went thin.

With one hour left on the clock at 17:00pm local time, race control momentarily stopped proceedings, halting the clock to try and wait for a break in the band of rain.

The rain eased a little so the pack could return behind the safety car at 18:17pm, with the cars passing by the green lights at the end of pit-lane and completed two full laps for the race to become official and the classification set.

During the third tour behind the safety car, race control red-flagged the Grand Prix again, bringing the drivers back to the pits, before the race was officially declared an official result at 18:44pm local time.

This meant Verstappen claimed the Belgian GP victory, the Red Bull driver taking 12.5 points, whilst Williams Racing’s George Russell scoring his maiden Formula 1 podium in second place, and nine points.

Verstappen’s championship rival Lewis Hamilton rounded out the top three for Mercedes and adding 7.5 points to his tally as the Briton’s Driver’s Championship leading gap was cut down to three points.

It is the first Grand Prix to award half points since the 2009 Malaysian Grand Prix and becomes the shortest race in Formula 1 history to have an official classification. With the previous record being 14 laps completed at the 1991 Formula One Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide.

McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo was fourth and in-front of Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel who crossed the line in fifth, AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly sixth and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon seventh.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was classified eighth, two places ahead of team-mate Carlos Sainz with Williams Racing’s Nicholas Latifi splitting the pairing in-between.

The other Alpine of Fernando Alonso ended the shortened race in 11^th and in-front of Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas who was 12^th and Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi 13^th.

McLaren’s Lando Norris was classified in 14^th place and ahead of AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda in 15^th and Haas F1 Team’s Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin who were 16^th and 17^th respectively as the latter was awarded the fastest lap of the race – a 3:18.016 – but the Russian does not receive any points due to being outside of the top ten.

Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll was 18^th in the order and in-front of Alfa’s Kimi Raikkonen and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez who brought up the rear.

Perez suffered a disaster before the Belgian Grand Prix began, after crashing on his way to the starting grid losing control on the wet surface and was unable to prevent his Honda-powered RB16B from darting straight into the barriers at Les Combes. The Milton Keynes-based outfit managed to get his car repaired during the delay, but the Mexican ended up last in the classification due to the abandoned race.

2021 Belgian GP – The Top Three

Belgian GP Winner – Max Verstappen, #33, Red Bull Racing-Honda, RB16B:

“It’s a big shame to not do proper laps, but the conditions were very tricky out there, the visibility was low. It kept raining, of course it’s a win but it’s not how you want to win.”

2^nd Place – George Russell, #63, Williams Racing-Mercedes, FW43B:

“We don’t often get a reward for a good qualifying but today we absolutely did. From our side and the team’s side, it’s a great result. The whole team deserve it, there’s so much hard work going in and there’s not been anything to show for it. I didn’t expect that this year, that’s for sure.”

3^rd Place – Lewis Hamilton, #44, Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team:

“I feel so sorry for the fans today, obviously it’s no one’s fault but the fans have been great today. They knew it wasn’t any better, they sent us out to get the two laps in.”

Formula 1 Rolex Belgian Grand Prix 2021 Race Results Classification (44 Laps)

* Provisional results. Note – half points awarded, as less than 75 percent of the original race distance was completed.

https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2021/races/1074/belgium/race-result.html

Click here for the Formula 1 World Driver’s (Top 10) and Constructors Championship Standings.

Round 12 of the 2021 FIA Formula One World Championship returns to the Circuit Zandvoort next weekend for the first time since 1985 for the Formula 1 Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2021 from September 3-5.

#BelgianGP Qualifying: @Max33Verstappen pips @GeorgeRussell63 to pole. #F1

#BelgianGP FP2: @Max33Verstappen quickest despite crashing out. #F1

#BelgianGP FP1: @ValtteriBottas tops time-sheets ahead of @Max33Verstappen. #F1

#Formula1 @Rolex #BelgianGP 2021 Preview. #F1