Formula 1 has rejected Lewis Hamilton’s claim that points were only awarded at the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix due to considerations regarding the money.
“Money talks.” – Lewis Hamilton said when asked about the controversial two laps which were held behind the safety car in teeming rain that led to the official result and ordinary post-race routines. Hamilton’s championship lead to nominal race winner Max Verstappen was slashed to just 3 points, but he said his major concern is the treatment of the sodden fans.
“Everyone gets their money, but I think the fans should get theirs back,” he said. “I think the sport made a bad choice today. I don’t know all the politics and the background or whether the two laps means they don’t get their money back but I don’t think that’s what we want. We have better values than that as a sport,” Hamilton added.
Yet Formula 1 explained that coming out on track in consistently bad conditions was all about merely formalising a race result and classification. Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali said the safety car and field only returned briefly to the track because “race management noticed a possible improvement in the weather. But the drivers gave categorical comments and the weather worsened. So that was the reason, not the commercial aspect. I think everything was done correctly. It had nothing to do with money or politics. We get the entry fee regardless of whether the grand prix is driven or not. It was all about the audience. We tried everything to offer up something for them.” – he explained.
The former Ferrari boss also added that moving the Belgian Grand Prix the next day would not have been possible taking into consideration the fact that most of the marshals are volunteers and would therefore need to go to work on Monday. As for Hamilton’s suggestion that the spectators should get their ticket money back, Stefano Domenicali is not ruling out this possibility: “We care about our fans. This is very important. We will discuss this issue with the organisers. As I said, the fans are our priority, and today they have proven that Formula 1 is very important to them. We will take care of this.” – he added.
At the same time, Spa-Francorchamps circuit director Vanessa Maes confirmed that she will discuss the situation of potential refunds with Formula 1.
“We will now rest a little and look to the future,” she told Eleven Sports – “I will reflect and discuss in the days to come with Formula One Management about how we could offer compensation to our spectators after this case of force majeure.” – Vanessa Maes concluded.
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