Ferrari Contradicts Lewis Hamilton’s FIA Dig over Belgian GP Delay Saga

Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur dismissed Lewis Hamilton's criticism of the FIA regarding the delayed start of the Belgian GP.

Ferrari Contradicts Lewis Hamilton’s FIA Dig over Belgian GP Delay Saga

Lewis Hamilton and Fred Vasseur (via reuters)

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The suspended race start for the Belgian GP faced a lot of criticism from the teams and drivers. Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton were at the center of it as they both ran a setup that would have excelled in rainy conditions. Both of them criticized the officials and their decision to delay the start by over an hour, which put both of them at a disadvantage. However, despite the situation, Ferrari’s boss Fred Vasseur has sided with the FIA and their decisions at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.

Max Verstappen first fired shots at the FIA for being too cautious about starting the race on a wet circuit despite having full wet tire compounds available. Even Lewis Hamilton joined the Dutchman and condemned the governing body’s decision to delay the race start. However, many sided with the FIA in the matter, as Fred Vasseur also negated Hamilton’s comments.

The Spa-Francorchamps circuit of the Belgian GP has a very high average speed, as a rainy track would only add to the chaos. There have already been a couple of fatal accidents at the circuit, as the FIA did not want to risk such a situation again. Keeping in mind the notorious history of the track, Fred Vasseur pointed out that the people couldn’t blame the officials for delaying the race start since those very people would jump on the governing body if something untoward happened.

We can’t blame them [race control] because we would be collectively the first ones to give them s**t if something happened.

Fred Vasseur said, as reported by Motorsport.com

Fred Vasseur reckoned that in this sense, the FIA needed to be praised for their decisions as everything worked out in the end and there were no accidents throughout the race at all. Moreover, Ferrari ran both types of setups with their drivers in Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, and neither of them lost out massively on performance. Finally, Vasseur asserted that he ‘respected’ the proactive decision taken by the officials since they also had a huge responsibility on them.

In this sense, we have to respect their decision. I can speak frankly because I have one car pushing on the high downforce, one car pushing on the low downforce and I was comfortable to respect their decision because they are taking a huge responsibility also.

Fred Vasseur added

Red Bull boss sides with Lewis Hamilton on ‘surprising’ Belgian GP delay

Lewis Hamilton wasn’t too happy with the delay to the Belgian GP as he believed that the conditions weren’t as bad to run so many laps behind the safety car. The race was also shifted to a rolling start as the racing line became almost dry when the actual race started. This caused uncertainty in strategies for some teams, as even Red Bull was likely affected by this. As such, Laurent Mekies pointed out that the duration of the delay was surprising for him too.

Lewis Hamilton (via Getty)
Lewis Hamilton (via Getty)

Laurent Mekies, sided by Lewis Hamilton and asserted that the people criticizing the situation were surprised by how long the FIA waited before starting the race. While Mekies accepted that the officials considered every situation before restarting, the teams were still put a disadvantage. The Frenchman noted that the track conditions were starting to dry up behind the safety car, but still, the drivers had to drive behind it for many laps.

I think we’re all surprised, I believe, by how late we started the race. I’m sure the FIA had its own considerations. But certainly, for us as a team, it surprised us. Because fundamentally we waited not only for the rain to stop, but also for pretty much the sun to come out. And then we still had many laps behind the safety car.

Laurent Mekies said, as reported by Motorsport.com

Regardless of the disappointing circumstances at the Belgian GP, Lewis Hamilton put forth an amazing recovery drive and finished in P7 after starting from P18. The Briton was overjoyed by these results as he reminisced about his childhood karting days after the performance. Now with just 11 races left in the 2025 season, Hamilton will hope for better racing conditions in the coming races, with better decisions by the race control.

Read More: McLaren Goes Against Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, Defends FIA over Spa Controversy