Ross Brawn concedes the decision to award half points after the rain-hit Belgian Grand Prix was “not ideal”, but felt they were a reward for drivers’ bravery in qualifying.
Heavy rain fall prior to the start of the race saw a 25-minute delay, before a series of formation laps were completed behind the safety car to assess conditions.
Ultimately a red flag was shown and resulted in a three-hour stoppage, until a further two laps were run to see if the track was suitable for racing.
The race was eventually called off but led to the controversial decision to hand out 50% points to the top-10 finishers, which proved an unpopular call with several drivers.
In accordance with the sporting regulations, in order for a result to be declared and issue half points a minimum of two laps must be completed.
Formula 1 boss Brawn admitted the outcome was less than ideal, but believed drivers, such as Williams driver George Russell, who excelled in the tricky conditions in Saturday’s qualifying session should be given some reward.
“I feel terrible for the fans, who turned out in their thousands and braved consistently wet conditions in the grandstands to support their heroes,” Brawn said in usual post-race column. “They showed such dedication and will never forget this weekend.
“Unfortunately, the weather worked against us. It was relentless. The FIA tried everything they could, sending the cars out twice behind the Safety Car to assess the conditions. It wasn’t so much the intensity of the rain that was the problem, more that it was consistent which led to very poor visibility.
“It’s pretty rare to see a weekend where the weather has been so intense, so consistently. Every effort was made to get the race underway safely and normally, there is a window when you can bring the safety car in, but that wasn’t possible.
“At the end of the day, safety comes first. And it wasn’t safe enough to continue the race. So the FIA did the best they could in what have been very challenging circumstances, of which we’ve not seen in decades.
‘Half points were awarded. It’s not ideal but if you can’t reward someone for the race, reward them for the bravery in qualifying. A lap like George Russell did in qualifying in the absence of a full race should be rewarded. As I say, it’s not ideal, but it’s where we are. The weather just wasn’t in our corner on Sunday.”
Brawn went on the heap further praise on Russell after he secured a maiden career podium following his shock front row start from a sensational lap in qualifying.
Russell is expected to be confirmed as a Mercedes driver for next year in the coming weeks, and Brawn said his “might impressive” performance in unfancied machinery proves he’s ready for a seat at the German manufacturer.
“We all know George Russell has a fantastic talent,” Brawn said. “We have seen it a lot at Williams, and we saw it amplified at Mercedes, when he stood in for Lewis Hamilton at the Sakhir Grand Prix last year.
“George’s performance reminded me a lot of Fernando Alonso when he drove at a wet Spa for Minardi in 2001. He was mighty impressive in a car that clearly was not up to the job. In those conditions, the ratio of driver to car changes – and we saw that with George on Saturday.
‘He doesn’t have a front row car but in those tricky conditions in qualifying, he trounced people with far better cars than he had. In my view, there is only one decision for Mercedes next year with regards the second seat.”
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