NO, SPA WASN’T A FARCE

Let’s not beat around the bush: the race at Spa wasn’t a scandal, but it wasn’t a textbook example of good race management either. With today’s cars and under those conditions, Spa-Francorchamps is one of the worst places to race when visibility is poor or the track is tricky. That said, race control’s decision — waiting over an hour to start when the track was nearly dry — raised plenty of questions. The result wasn’t rigged, but it was clearly affected.

The comparison with Silverstone comes naturally: there, they raced in a real downpour, with no hesitation. At Spa, the approach was the complete opposite. And that choice impacted strategy. Verstappen, for instance, went for a low-downforce setup in qualifying, accepting the risk if it rained. But at Spa, those who sacrificed Saturday to focus on Sunday were penalized by an overly cautious race direction.

The issue isn’t this one-off situation. It’s the lack of consistency. If from now on we’re going to wait for a dry track before starting, that needs to be made clear, so teams don’t make setup choices in the dark. This time, no one will raise much fuss because the title fight is between Piastri and Norris — two drivers with no reason to take extreme risks. But what if more contenders were in the mix? Decisions like this could easily tip the balance in someone’s favor — and that’s just not acceptable.

The race itself, frankly, was pretty dull. And the reason’s simple: at Spa, if you’re stuck behind a slower car with a dry setup, you often stay stuck — even with DRS. Hamilton made the most of the early stages, gained positions, and pitted early. But once he got behind Albon, his race basically froze. Same story for Verstappen: even if he wanted to go on the attack, Leclerc had very similar — maybe even slightly better — pace.

Then there’s the Piastri vs. Norris battle. Why all the controversy? Norris lost traction coming out of Turn 1 — almost identical to what happened to Verstappen in the sprint on a dry track — and Piastri took advantage with cold precision. Lando fought back right away, showing he had the pace. But his pit stop the next lap — slowed down by a front-left issue — dropped him 9 seconds back. The track was still slick, grip was low, pressure was high. He made a couple of small mistakes — but nothing outrageous in my view.

The guy in front of him had the same car, is leading the championship, and was in phenomenal form. Yet somehow, Norris never seems to catch a break from criticism. At Spa, in those conditions, making two mistakes in 30 laps while trying to close a gap like that? Not the end of the world. Maybe I just have more realistic expectations.

The truth is, this title fight is a great one. Two incredibly talented, focused young drivers who respect each other on and off the track. No drama, no mind games. Just pure skill and speed. But apparently, that’s not enough: some people still crave conflict, tension, exaggeration — even in how they celebrate.

But no — these are the right rivals. Maybe not the ones we deserve, but absolutely the ones we needed.

© Simone Marchetti Cavalieri

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