SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS
\nRed Bull\u2019s Max Verstappen won Formula One\u2019s shortest race on Sunday, a wet Belgian Grand Prix with no overtaking that was called off as soon as enough safety car-led laps had been completed to award half-points.
\nWith no actual racing allowed, the Dutchman secured his sixth win of the season ahead of Britain\u2019s George Russell, who had put Williams on the front row with a stunning display in a wet qualifying on Saturday.
\nChampionship leader Lewis Hamilton, who again missed out on the chance to secure a record-extending 100th win, was third for Mercedes.
\nIt was only the sixth time since the first championship in 1950 that half points had been awarded, and Hamilton\u2019s lead over Verstappen in the overall standings dwindled to just three points.
\nRed Bull also cut their deficit to Mercedes in the constructors\u2019 standings to seven.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s a big shame to not do proper laps but the conditions were very tricky out there,\u201d said Verstappen after sealing what will count as his 16th career win and first at Spa.
\n\u201cOf course it\u2019s a win but it\u2019s not how you want to win.\u201d
\nHamilton said the fans, who sat huddled for three hours in the torrential rain and cold, should be given their money back.
\nRussell, in his 50th race with Williams, secured his first Formula One podium and handed the former champions their first top-three result since Canadian Lance Stroll\u2019s third-placed finish in Baku in 2017.
\n\u201cWe don\u2019t often get rewarded for great qualifyings and we absolutely did today,\u201d said the 23-year-old, widely tipped to land the Mercedes seat alongside Hamilton next year. \u201cThe whole team deserve it because there\u2019s so much hard work going into this over the last few years and there\u2019s not really been anything to show for it.\u201d
\nPoor conditions
\nConditions at Spa-Francorchamps had begun deteriorating before the start of the race.
\nThe formation lap was initially delayed by 25 minutes but, with visibility poor, Formula One race director Michael Masi suspended the race start.
\nAfter nearly three hours, race control found a window to send the cars out for two laps behind the safety car, ensuring they completed the minimum distance required for a race result to be declared.
\nThe governing FIA\u2019s final race classification, however, gave the positions after lap one, explaining that this was in accordance with the sporting regulations.
\nThe race was ultimately called off three hours and 44 minutes after its scheduled start time and will also go down in the sport\u2019s statistics as only the 11th without a single retirement.
\nMexican Sergio Perez crashed his Red Bull on his sighting lap before even forming up on the grid but stewards allowed him to start the race from the pitlane, with Red Bull mechanics taking advantage of the delay to complete repairs.
\nIt proved to be in vain as the 31-year-old was classified last.
\nHamilton\u2019s Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas, who started 13th after a five-position grid drop, moved up a place after Perez\u2019s crash. He finished outside the points in 12th.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS Red Bull\u2019s Max Verstappen won Formula One\u2019s shortest race on Sunday, a wet Belgian Grand Prix with no overtaking that was called off as soon as enough safety car-led laps had been completed to award half-points. With no actual racing allowed, the Dutchman secured his sixth win of the season ahead of Britain\u2019s George […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-212529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n