“It’s Just Stupidity,” George Russell Hits out at Max Verstappen’s Demands for Wet Race at Belgian GP

Mercedes star George Russell refuted Max Verstappen's claims over the lack of need for a delay at the Belgian GP.

“It’s Just Stupidity,” George Russell Hits out at Max Verstappen’s Demands for Wet Race at Belgian GP

George Russell (via Getty), Max Verstappen (via Red Bull)

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The Belgian GP turned out to be another controversial weekend for Formula 1. This time however, the discussions were not focused on any aggressive racing moves. Rather, the paddock was divided over the delayed start due to bad weather. Max Verstappen blatantly criticized the FIA’s decision to suspend the start for over an hour. Now, George Russell has refuted the Dutchman’s claims, citing the need for safety.

Spa-Francorchamps is a high speed circuit, and is known to be one of the most dangerous tracks on the calendar. On Sunday, heavy rain took over the circuit, significantly hampering visibility. FIA decided to wait for over an hour before letting cars race, that too with a rolling start.

Max Verstappen was critical of Race Control. The Dutchman insisted that there was no need to wait to begin with. The Red Bull star reckoned that if things continue like this, Formula 1 will no longer have classic wet races. Lewis Hamilton had similar views to the situation. The Ferrari star was not happy with the FIA either. Though, Ferrari and McLaren team bosses have defended the sports governing body.

George Russell acknowledged that any racing driver would never want to stop even during treacherous on-track conditions. However, the Briton pointed out that a driver is essentially blindfolded in such a condition when they make their way through Eau Rouge at incredibly high speeds. This becomes extremely dangerous, and could lead to a disaster. Russell made it clear that going ahead in such a situation would’ve just been stupid.

 As a racer, you always want to get going. You love driving in the rain. But the fact is, when you’re doing over 200 miles an hour out of Eau Rouge, you literally cannot see anything; you may as well have a blindfold on. It isn’t racing, it’s just stupidity.

George Russell said, as quoted by Motorsport.com

George Russell using experience to extract pace in 2025

Mercedes is stuck in a no-man’s land in the ground-effect era of Formula 1. The Silver Arrows are ahead of the midfield, but still a bit far from the likes of Red Bull and McLaren. This is making things difficult for George Russell and Kimi Antonelli. As the two try to fight for the podium at every race.

Max Verstappen and George Russell (via Red Bull Content Pool)
Max Verstappen and George Russell (via Red Bull Content Pool)

Mercedes engineering chief Andrew Shovlin highlighted that George Russell was managing to use his experience to get the most out of the car this season. This had allowed the British driver to clinch victory in Canada this season. On the other hand, rookie Antonelli is still learning to get up to speed at the pinnacle of motorsport.

I think what you’ve seen in the recent qualifyings is that George is leaning on his many years of experience in an F1 car to try and make the most of a difficult car. Kimi hasn’t got that to drop back on, and that’s probably why you’ve seen a bit of a shift in his results recently.

Andrew Shovlin said, as quoted by Motorsport.com

George Russell’s comments over the safety at Spa-Francorchamps do form a valid argument. The Belgian GP is infamous for dangerous conditions, with F2, driver Anthoine Hubert losing his life in 2019. Thus, it is always better for officials to wait until the track conditions become completely safe before allowing a race to begin.

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