Ross Brawn justifies the award of half points at the Belgian GP

This is not a first in the history of Formula 1, but the awarding of half points at the end of a Grand Prix nonetheless remains an exceptional situation. With only two laps covered under Safety Car, the drivers were unable to cover 75% of the planned race distance and the regulations provided for this situation were applied. However, many voices were raised against this decision, believing that it was unfair to distribute points when the race itself never took place. This is particularly the opinion of Fernando Alonso. “It makes no sense, it’s shocking.”, judges the pilot Alpine.

Ross Brawn justified the awarding of these half points to the top ten: “Half points were awarded. It's not ideal but if you can't reward someone for racing, reward them for their bravery in qualifying. A lap like George Russell in qualifying in the absence of a full race should be rewarded. Like I said, it's not ideal, but it's where we are. The weather just wasn't on our side on Sunday. » A George Russell who therefore inherited his first podium in Formula 1 after a brilliant qualifying lap on Saturday.

“Unfortunately the weather worked against us. It was relentless. The FIA ​​tried everything, sending the cars behind the Safety Car twice to assess the conditions. It was not so much the intensity of the rain that was the problem, but rather its regularity which led to very poor visibility., also explains the Briton, echoing about Michael Masi, the FIA ​​race director. Finally, Ross Brawn also had a word for the public who remained in place all afternoon despite the deluge: “I feel bad for the fans, who turned out in their thousands and braved persistently wet conditions in the stands to support their heroes. They showed such dedication and will never forget this weekend. »