Max Verstappen is furious about the FIA’s decision to temporarily stop the race in Belgium due to heavy rainfall. The Dutchman, who had built up a clear lead at that time, could hardly hide his frustration when he spoke to the press after the race. What initially sounded as criticism of FIA’s weather policy, soon turned into a much sharper accusation: according to Verstappen the decision was made to favor one specific team – and that team was, to the great surprise of fans, none other than McLaren.
“Everyone saw that I was the fastest. But suddenly the race is stopped, and as soon as McLaren was in a better strategic position, we were allowed to race again. It is very clear who is preferred here,” Verstappen said visibly annoyed.
The accusation struck as a bomb within the Formula 1 world. Until now, the FIA was often accused of being inconsistent with their decisions, but a direct accusation of bias is of a triple world champion of a completely different order. Verstappen emphasized that these types of choices undermine the sporting nature of Formula 1 and seriously harm confidence in the race management.
McLaren responded quickly and defensively to the statements. Team boss Andrea Stella called the accusations “completely unfounded and disrespectful”, and emphasized that his team simply benefited from the right moment and a well -executed strategy.
“We cannot check it again. We simply responded optimally to the circumstances. The fact that we took advantage of it does not mean that there is favoritism,” said Stella.
The FIA itself later issued a short explanation stating that the safety of the drivers is always paramount and that the strike of the race had to do exclusively with the deteriorating weather conditions. They strongly denied that there was preference for any team.
Yet the debate started. Analysts are divided. Some believe that Verstappen, as a leader, rightly asks questions about the timing of the decisions. Others believe that he is frustrated about his loss of control over the race and now his arrows focuses on an innocent opponent.
The emotions ran high on social media. The fan bases of Red Bull and McLaren fiercely clashed in reactions and hashtags such as #justiceformax and #fairplaymclares started to trend.
Whether Verstappen will nuance his words in the coming days is not yet clear. What is certain is that the tension between Red Bull and McLaren – two teams that have recently come closer together in performance – has achieved a new high point with this words of words.
The Grand Prix of Belgium has not only produced an exciting race, but also a political aftermath that can determine the season further.
