Masi: “We did our best to ensure the race”
Michael Masi came back to the Belgian Grand Prix and that special day. He assures that he did his best to make this race possible. But the weather conditions were not on their side.
While the departure was scheduled for 3pm local time, the Belgian Grand Prix was finally able to start at 6:17pm. A long delay caused by heavy downpours and low visibility for the drivers and the rescue helicopter.
At the start, the drivers were then able to do several laps behind the safety car, but the conditions worsened becoming impossible to practice the race causing yet another red flag. The final ranking remained the same as the qualifiers, except for Sergio Perez who finished last following his accident during the warm-up lap before the Grand Prix. Half points were awarded to the top 10 after four laps were completed.
Michael Masi, the race director of the FIA, reflected on this special day, admitting that the weather ultimately won the race. It has been a long day. In fact, we had the worst of the weather. The conditions were not excellent all weekend. We had moments where we could start a few laps, but the weather got the better of us, admitted Masi.
Regarding the drivers who were brought into the pits after a few laps, the Australian declared that the weather was favorable at that time with a slight interruption that could have made the race possible. « It was to see what the conditions were. We are in constant contact with our official weather provider (Météo France, editor’s note) and there was a window. We have the obligation to give a 10-minute warning to everyone. It was like ‘okay, let’s try to see if we can find this window’ and a number of teams said the same thing », ” he explained.
It is impossible to move the Grand Prix to Monday.
The option of postponing the Grand Prix to the next day was also mentioned. However, it was not possible according to Masi. The weather conditions were still not favorable and from the point of view of the FIA and F1, safety is paramount for the drivers, teams, and all spectators, he stated.
He said he was disappointed for all the people involved and hopes to learn lessons for the future by trying to find possible solutions. It is obviously disappointing for all the people involved that we could not cover the entire distance. We did our best to provide all the opportunities, but at least we achieved something. It is difficult to say if the final result is the one desired by all. What is certain is that this day will remain engraved in memory as the shortest Grand Prix in the history of Formula 1.
