Skip to main content

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Recommended for you

How to watch IndyCar 2026 at Nashville: Weekend schedule, start time, TV

IndyCar
Nashville
How to watch IndyCar 2026 at Nashville: Weekend schedule, start time, TV

Did Kelley Earnhardt Miller just confirm that Justin Allgaier will return in 2027?

NASCAR O'Reilly
Did Kelley Earnhardt Miller just confirm that Justin Allgaier will return in 2027?

"Not the same challenge" or an "interesting" exercise? - Drivers on Spa's appeal in F1 2026

Formula 1
Belgian GP
"Not the same challenge" or an "interesting" exercise? - Drivers on Spa's appeal in F1 2026

Crunch time in IMSA: Inside the 2026 WeatherTech Championship title fights

IMSA
Crunch time in IMSA: Inside the 2026 WeatherTech Championship title fights

F1 Belgian GP: Friday schedule, weather forecast and how to watch

Formula 1
Belgian GP
F1 Belgian GP: Friday schedule, weather forecast and how to watch

What Max Verstappen did – and didn't – say about his F1 future and McLaren at Spa

Formula 1
Belgian GP
What Max Verstappen did – and didn't – say about his F1 future and McLaren at Spa

Lewis Hamilton still avoiding Ferrari’s F1 sim: ‘It’s helped me massively’

Formula 1
Belgian GP
Lewis Hamilton still avoiding Ferrari’s F1 sim: ‘It’s helped me massively’

Charles Leclerc: Merging "aggressive" style with F1 2026 cars is this year's biggest challenge

Formula 1
Belgian GP
Charles Leclerc: Merging "aggressive" style with F1 2026 cars is this year's biggest challenge

Wolff: Mercedes must take Belgian GP F1 race call "on the chin"

Toto Wolff says Mercedes must take Formula 1's decision to run two laps and award half points at Spa "on the chin" after seeing its championship advantage narrow.

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 his lead at the top is now down to three points.

Mercedes also saw its points lead in the constructors' championship fall by the same amount, leaving it seven clear of Red Bull at the head of the standings.

The decision to run two laps behind the safety car drew widespread criticism, including from Hamilton, who called it a "farce" and said that it was purely down to commercial considerations - something F1 boss Stefano Domenicali denied.

Mercedes F1 boss Wolff was asked about Hamilton's "money scenario" comment after the race, and said that people had "all reasons to be upset" about how the race unfolded, but that the team had to accept its points loss and move on.

"Half points have been awarded, when probably it was expected that the weather wouldn't get any better," Wolff said. "But it is what it is. And I guess you need to take this one on the chin and close the chapter for this race and move on.

"In a certain way, we must really applaud the fans that have been there for three days in the rain, they have waited for a race to happen.

"But as a team, we lost some points and that's why we have to move on."

Read Also:

Motorsport.com has learned that F1 boss Domenicali is set to discuss changes to the rules with team boss in the near future to prevent a repeat of Sunday's washout.

One provision in series such as IndyCar and NASCAR allows for a race to be postponed until Monday, but the FIA said there was no possibility of this happening at Spa.

Wolff said that F1 had to take Sunday as a "freak day", and was unsure if there could be any firm learnings given the inability to control the weather.

"Everybody tried hard to get a race under way and because of the rain, it didn't happen," Wolff said. "To maybe come back to your Monday question, I think we have had plenty of fans that day that will have to go back to their jobs tomorrow.

"We would have tried to have the race for the local fans, and therefore that wouldn't have made a great difference for them."

Previous article Seidl: Only racing indoors could prevent F1 rain washouts
Next article Fernando Alonso: Decision to award F1 points for Belgian GP "shocking"

Top Comments

Latest news