The race was abandoned after the cars hit the track for two short runs – two introductory laps and later the three laps that generated an official race standings – much to the frustration of the spectators who paid hundreds of euros for tickets.
World Champion Lewis Hamilton suggested shortly after the race that fans should get their money back.
The question of what happens next is being discussed by the spa promoter and the F1 organization.
“I would understand,” said Szafnauer when asked by Autosport about the demand for reimbursements. “I can’t say that, but they came to a car race and we didn’t quite produce our own, we can’t control the weather.
“You tried to get into the race and I don’t think it was raceable. Only the rear view wasn’t good enough.
“And we saw similar conditions in ’98. There was a big crash between Michael Schumacher and David Coulthard. The race continued, but visibility was so poor that they met at high speed. So it was the right decision. “
Szafnauer also supported calls for the FIA to have more leeway in the race start times when there was an obvious risk of rain.
“I think we should definitely have some leeway,” he said. “Because we’re there for the fans. If we’re waiting to start the race for the fans, we shouldn’t be handcuffed or shackled. ”Rules of that kind. We should do the right thing for the people who pay the money.
Otmar Szafnauer, Team Principal and CEO, Aston Martin F1
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
“But you know, that’s racing. That’s part of it, especially here, and it’s not the first time. I mean, maybe this has happened for the first time, but not the first time you have had weather conditions like this here at Spa.
“Like I said, 98 similar conditions here but one bad accident, both of them were lucky enough to go away. What you don’t want to do is race and look back and say we should never have done this because something happened . “
While Sebastian Vettel brought Aston Martin useful points for his fifth place in qualifying, Szafnauer admitted somewhat frustrated that the race did not take place in Rasterschlitz.
“We had a really good car here and unfortunately we couldn’t show it,” he said. “I think even Lance would have picked up points from his starting position and Seb would have had a good chance of a podium.
“It’s hard to predict, but I think we could have been a couple of guys who were ahead of us. And probably held the guys behind us.
“Seb should probably have started third, but he made a mistake in qualifying, but that’s how it is. Probably Lando [Norris] would have hit us, but he didn’t. So we would have been upstairs. “
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