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‘Clear Case of Fraud’: Former F1 Driver Suggests a Major Change to Avoid Belgian GP Fiasco

Published 09/01/2021, 4:46 AM EDT

The controversy-stricken Belgian Grand Prix of this season has been receiving a lot of varying opinions from the entire F1 community. And of course, it’s not surprising, considering the main event broke the record for the shorted race in F1 history.

The session lasted for 4 hours and ended up completing just 3 laps on the board. Hence, the fact F1 surpassed the 3-lap mark meant that the stewards had the right to bring about a result out of the session. Yes, F1 did play by the FIA’s rulebook.

But, what about the fans that waited in the rain for hours only to see cars strolling past behind a safety car for a few minutes? Is that even a fair play?

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Well, according to former F1 driver and sports car world champion, Hans-Joachim Stuck, that was a clear case of fraud.

What did the former F1 driver say?

As reported by Speed Week, the 70-year-old reckoned the Belgian GP was an absolute farce. He further opined that the spectators deserved to receive a refund, which he felt must be done by the organizers.

“This is a farce. This was a clear case of fraud, especially for the fans. The best drivers in the world are behind the wheel here. Nobody can tell me that they had to wait so long. I hope the organizer is so clever and says – the fans get their money back,” he said.

Along with Hans-Joachim, Lewis Hamilton, too, opined that the spectators must receive a partial refund after F1 failed to deliver a race at Spa Francorchamps.

Need more racing drivers as stewards: Hans-Joachim

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The German demanded that former racing drivers must represent as stewards, as they would be able to assess the conditions better than the stewards with any on-track experience. As of now, the only racing driver steward is Emanuele Pirro. Hence, Hans-Joachim reckoned the Italian must have made the decision at Spa.

“I think it would be good if more race stewards who were drivers themselves would decide. If Emanuele Pirro had been the steward in Belgium, then the start would have been made, I’m quite sure,” he said.

Overall, it was undeniably a disappointing end to the Belgian Grand Prix after the rain ended up overstaying their welcome. Also, the upcoming weekend at Zandvoort is teasing another wet race day. So, are we in for another nerve-wracking Sunday at the Dutch GP?

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Written by:

Rohit Kumar is an F1 author at EssentiallySports. He has been an ardent follower of the racing series since 2007, with his love for the sport coinciding with his love for Kimi Raikkonen. He is also an ardent follower of Sebastian Vettel and Aston Martin Racing.

‘Clear Case of Fraud’: Former F1 Driver Suggests a Major Change to Avoid Belgian GP Fiasco

What did the former F1 driver say?

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Need more racing drivers as stewards: Hans-Joachim