F1 | Belgian GP | A furious Sebastian Vettel condemns FIA’s decision of not stopping qualifying despite unsafe weather conditions
The German was fuming when informed about Norris’ crash, just moments after requesting over team radio the session to be red flagged due to the heavy rain.
“Wet” is the only adjective we could use to describe Saturday’s qualifying session at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
The rain transformed the one-hour session into a rollercoaster of highs and lows, including a big wreck involving McLaren’s Lando Norris.
Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel, who had previously expressed his concern over the weather conditions, was the first driver succouring Norris after his shunt.
The German stopped his car on the track and stood there until Norris confirmed he was “okay”.
Needless to say, Vettel was furious and opened up on a team-radio message highlighting he “said they needed a red flag”
After seeing Lando's damaged car, Seb pulls up to check on him 👊#BelgianGP 🇧🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/FKwVnPRsje
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 28, 2021
After qualifying, the German is said to have bumped into race director Masi in the paddock and discussed the incident.
“I think Michael is not proud of what happened either,” Vettel said in the TV pen after qualifying.
“It’s always easy to play Captain Hindsight. But I think we need to find a way that we listen more to the information that we have.
“When I went down to Eau Rouge and came up the hill, it was a lot of water and I was calling for a red flag,” Vettel continued.
"I think the truth is, the session should not have started at all".
The collision is the second major incident of the weekend at Eau Rouge, the latest of many more over the course of the past three years. On Friday, a six-car accident in W Series opened up again the debate about the safety standards at the corner.
Although changes are planned for the Eau Rouge/Raidillon complex ahead of the 2022 race, it may be too late.
“There’s plenty of things we could have done better. I think it’s better to be safe one time too many than one time too little.
“It’s good that nothing happened, that’s the main news, but it could have been a different outcome for Lando, and I’m not sure there’s anything he could have done,” concluded the German.
That's P5 Seb, what a drive!
— Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) August 28, 2021
That was a tough one, you've done us proud. 💚 #BelgianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/UjC39QrDLv
After a 40-minutes interruption, needed to remove what remained of Lando Norris’ McLaren, Q3 resumed and the four-time World Champion delivered a great performance, crossing the line in P5.
However, as he revealed, he could have been higher up on the grid if it wasn’t for a small mistake he made.
“I went wide in Turn 8 and actually off the track, so I think Daniel [Ricciardo] was no problem to get him, and we should have been maybe a little bit higher up,” Vettel explained.
The German also congratuled Williams’ British driver George Russell for conquering the first row for Sunday’s race:
“I’m very happy for George [Russell], but I think that’s maybe where we could have been as well, a little more in the mix.
“But I think it’s a great result for us, and I’m happy to start the race in a decent position.”
