“A farce” - Hamilton leads F1 drivers' criticism of Belgian GP ‘race’

Following more than three hours of delays amid heavy rain and poor visibility, the race resumed with the Safety Car leading the field around for two laps before the red flag came out for the second and final time.

Ensuring two laps were completed meant F1 could officially declare a result and award half-points, an outcome several drivers questioned.

Hamilton also said he felt “sorry” for the fans who stuck it out amid the horrendous conditions and believes they should get a refund due to no racing laps being completed.

Here’s what a selection of the drivers made of the situation and a bizarre Belgian GP…

Lewis Hamilton - 'Fans deserve better'

“Today was a farce and the only people to lose out are the fans who have paid good money to watch us race,” he wrote on Instagram.

“Of course you can’t do anything about the weather but we have sophisticated equipment to tell us what’s going on and it was clear the weather wasn’t going to let up.

“We were sent out for one reason and one reason only. Two laps behind a safety car where there is no possibility to gain or lose a place or provide entertainment to fans isn’t racing.

“We should have just called it quits, not risked the drivers and most importantly refunded the fans who are the heart of our sport.”

Max Verstappen - 'Not how you want to win'

“I said at 3:30 ‘let’s go’. I think the conditions were decent but the visibility was very low.

“I think if we would have started at three o’clock we would had a better chance. Nevertheless after that it just stayed really wet and it kept raining.

“Of course it’s a win but it’s not how you want to win. I think for today big credit goes to all the fans around the track to stay here the whole day in rain, in the cold, windy conditions.

“So I think they are actually the bigger winners today.”

Sebastian Vettel - A 'joke' to award points

“It’s a bit of a joke, no? That’s a joke.

“If you want to get a reward for qualifying, you should get points for qualifying. What did we do today [to earn the points]? I don’t know.”

Pierre Gasly - 'I didn’t deserve points'

“I don’t feel like I deserved any points today for what I’ve done.

“I just followed the safety car. I didn’t crash in the laps to the grid, but that’s the only thing I’ve done today.

“But at the end of the day this is not really the point – I feel really bad for all the people that came here, travelled, waited hours under the rain to watch an F1 race, and the only thing they got to see is a couple of laps from the safety car and F1 cars following.

“Really sorry for all those people and yeah, unfortunately, I don’t think there was any other option possible because the visibility was so bad in the pack.

“We know the consequences if a car gets t-boned. Unfortunately, I don’t think there was any other option.

“I’m a bit surprised, to be fair, because I just feel they just put us out on track in the worst conditions just to allow these points to happen.”

Lando Norris - 'Points shouldn't have been awarded'

“I don’t think any points should be awarded for today.

“I think for how little we did today, X amount of racing laps, we go out and we race for X amount of the race, but to drive around behind the safety car and then for people to get points… Maybe I’d be saying the opposite if I was first and I’d got a good amount of points, I don’t know.

“I don’t feel like, even though it’s benefitted us today - Daniel got a good amount of points comparing to Ferrari – I don’t feel it’s a deserved race for points because it’s not a race at the end of the day.”

Carlos Sainz - ‘Nonsense’ if restart was for points

"If it was done with the intention just to score points, then I think it’s absolute nonsense. I don’t think we should do any kind of laps to alter the final result of a race.

"If it was done with the intention of actually running, and restarting the race, then yes. Which brings me to the next point, which is, how far into the race do you call it a race? And if there was actually no race laps, no competition, why should points be given or any result be given, because there was basically no race.

“I didn’t race, so I didn’t deserve half a point.”

Daniel Ricciardo - ‘I feel for the fans’

“I feel for the fans. I don’t want it to come across like in an attack mode because it is no one’s fault what happened today.

“For sure I feel for the fans. They save up money to come and watch us and they did not get to see a race. I would love for them to get refunded or compensated.

“But it is not an attack to anyone because this is just mother nature.”

Valtteri Bottas - 'I don’t think it was a race'

“The thing that was correct is that there weren’t raceable conditions today, the visibility was the main thing.

“On the run to Turn 5 and also in the back straight, from where I was, I couldn’t see anything, so it was not possible. And there was no improvement, even with the laps we did.

“But, was it a race? Was it worth points? From my side, of course, I was not in the points, so I never had the opportunity to fight for the points, so I don’t think it was a race.

“But it is what it is. For sure it was a tricky call for F1 to decide what to do, but that’s what happened.”