Belgian-Dutch driver for Red Bull Racing, Max Verstappen lifted the Belgian Grand Prix trophy on Sunday as the race was called off owing to turbulent weather
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen had only completed two laps behind a safety car at a drenched and dangerous Spa-Francorchamps circuit, when he was declared the winner of the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix due to rain. Meanwhile, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton finished second and third, respectively. Read on to know how this development took place.
Explained: How Did Max Verstappen Win The F1 Belgian Grand Prix 2021 Despite It Being Called Off?
Stavelot, Belgium’s seven-kilometer (4.3 mile) Spa-Francorchamps circuit was rain-soaked on Sunday, 29th August when the final race of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix was scheduled to take place. While the race restarted under a safety car, three hours after its scheduled time, it was called off again. The race was reduced down to an hour with only half points set to be awarded to the winner, who had to complete just 2 laps.
It was Lap 4 and Red Bull’s Verstappen was leading from Williams’ George Russell and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, when the restarted race ended roughly 10 minutes later, with the rain still pouring. It had restarted at 6:17 PM (local time) and was suspended around 6:30 PM, much to the disappointment of the fans. This happened after only a couple of laps as conditions looked dicey at the track where driver Anthoine Hubert had lost his life in 2019.
It’s a shame the bad weather denied us a proper race. It’s P1, but the real winners are all the fans that stayed at the track in the rain all day 🖤💛❤️ Incredible 🙌 #BelgianGP 🇧🇪 pic.twitter.com/3bJcoBrJK7
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) August 29, 2021
Max Verstappen F1 2021 Points
Pole-sitter Verstappen thus, earned half points following the shortest race in F1 history and moved within 3 points of Lewis Hamilton in the drivers’ championship. “Now, in hindsight, it was important to get the pole position,” he said, acknowledging that it was indeed a shame not to do proper laps. “Of course it’s a win but not how you want to win.”
This marked his sixth win of the season and the 16th of his career. Not only did he stop Hamilton from bagging a 100th win, but also trimmed his overall lead from 8 points to 3. While Max collected 12.5 points, Russell picked up 9 and Hamilton 7.5.
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