F1 CEO to discuss Spa spectator refunds after race debacle
Aug.30 - Formula 1 has rejected Lewis Hamilton's claim that points were only distributed after the farcical Belgian GP because of considerations about money.
"Money talks," said the seven time world champion when asked about the controversial two laps behind the safety car in teeming rain that led to the official result and ordinary post-race routines.
Hamilton's championship lead to nominal race winner Max Verstappen was slashed to just 3 points, but he said his major concern is the treatment of the sodden fans.
"Everyone gets their money, but I think the fans should get theirs back," he said. "I think the sport made a bad choice today.
"I don't know all the politics and the background or whether the two laps means they don't get their money back but I don't think that's what we want.
"We have better values than that as a sport," Hamilton added.
However, Formula 1 denied that the farcical return to the track in consistently bad conditions was all about merely formalising a race result and classification.
F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali said the safety car and field only returned briefly to the track because "race management noticed a possible improvement in the weather".
"But the drivers gave categorical comments and the weather worsened. So that was the reason, not the commercial aspect. I think everything was done correctly," said the Italian.
"It had nothing to do with money or politics. We get the entry fee regardless of whether the grand prix is driven or not.
"It was all about the audience. We tried everything to offer up something for them."
Domenicali also said a postponement to Monday was not possible because marshals are volunteers and too many would need to go to work.
As for Hamilton's suggestion that the spectators should get their ticket money back, Domenicali is not ruling that out.
"We care about our fans," he said. "This is very important.
"We will discuss this issue with the organisers. As I said, the fans are our priority, and today they have proven that Formula 1 is very important to them. We will take care of this."
Spa circuit director Vanessa Maes vowed to discuss the matter of potential refunds with Formula 1.
"We will now rest a little and look to the future," she told Eleven Sports.
"I will reflect and discuss in the days to come with Formula One Management about how we could offer compensation to our spectators after this case of force majeure," Maes added.
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So you buy a ticket for race day or a weekend ticket and some races take place, so does that mean a partial refund i suppose it could, but my guess is no refunds will happen yes my guess..... before all the jax boys and girls get started on me
The fia rule book of regs must have a section to cover this , i just cant be arsed to look, we have a number of wet races on the calender, so this could open a real can of worms, " if in doubt do nowt " as the old saying goes .
I sat thru the farce that was the 2005 USGP (when Michelin failed to bring a tire that could handle the final turn on the clockwise track aka "turn 1" on the oval and the Ferraris beat the Jordans by half a lap, with the Minnows being the only other runners a distant 5th and 6th as I recall - what a snooze-fest that was) and to their credit, we (as repeat ticketholders of our excellent Stand H seats) were given essentially free tickets for the next year's race; however, travel and accommodations were of course not covered. Same should occur here. Also, horrible about the Spa CEO and her husband and friend all having been murdered - violent crime seems on the rise everywhere.
It's a joke 30 years of watching f1 and never seen anything as poor as this. Awarding half points was laughable. This is a massive low for f1 and will have a big impact on the championship.
Rob, no defense of the Spa fiasco, but do you not remember the 2005 Indy F1 race? Not exactly a high point in F1 history.
Short memories , and thats human nature Ror, this will sort itself out and for the people who think Max was hard done to at SS this goes someway to rectify it at least points wise, i half expected to see Toto taking Masi for lunch during the break and telling him to call the whole thing off for his special one
Get out and race.....best drivers in the world in the best machines paid alot of money because of the danger ....let's see how good they are 😁
Yeah I remember very similar this sticks out so much because it's been a good season. This felt very cynical.
In the US we get the usually excellent SkySports coverage on ESPN. What was the biggest joke for me was the approximately 90 minute debate amongst the commentators as to which clause of the various applicable rules governed the question of whether or not the race had actually "started." The fact that such a basic question was open to interpretation under various applicable provisions of various rulebooks tells this lawyer that a comprehensive review and page-one re-write of said rules might well be in order.
More opportunities for those brilliant sky commentators to explain things properly NOT.......
Had Hamilton been first in Quali I do not think he would be yapping. Being the second of the losers must be hard for him. Did all the drivers get on a knee to him in the pouring rain? My nephew says not.
obviously your right but this way it gives Hamster the chance to look mr self righteous and the main man .
Get out and race.....best drivers in the world in the best machines paid alot of money because of the danger ....let's see how good they are 😁
i read the General manager of spa is open to refund discussions , however im sure any refund will be dependant on a partial/full refund of this yrs race fee , or a discount on next yrs (if a refund
happens at all ), BUT..............
Whats a double blow for spa is the the CEO a lady called Nathalie Maille was murdered together with her female " friend " together with the body of Nathalies husband at the family home a cpl of weeks ago
Aug 2021 will be remembered at spa for numerous reasons .
Give the attending fans a comparable ticket to next year's race and have Liberty discount next year's sanctioning fee an equal amount. That doesn't make the attendees whole but at least softens the blow. If Liberty wants to litigate against the FIA, have at it. Give us something to laugh about.
How can it be regarded as a race if there is no chance of overtaking? Surely this is a no-brainer .... the loyal fans who stayed on in the rain in the hope of a race should have the cost of their tickets returned to them. No event must mean no charge surely.
Well, the track didn’t decide not to race, so the promotor actually has less responsibility than F1 , the teams and drivers. If there is a reimbursement, it should come from F1, teams, and DRIVERS. Drivers pushed the stewarts to make this decision, due to weather. Everyone has the responsibility to repay part of the fans ticket expenses. I can assure you that, if this would be how it works, Drivers would want to race a bit more in these conditions…. Not the teams though, dammages are too expensives.. That’s how I see it.
Very easy to criticize others, until you have to dig in your pockets..
Julia , have you ever attended a boxing match, usually there's a few fights before the main event, then the championship contenders start and BANG , one guy knocks the other out at end of round 1,
Do the fans deserve a refund?, i appreciate, the differences however the question is still there ?
Get back to sarcasm! I hate it when you're logical. LOL
point taken lol
at least that one BANG was a fight! We didn't get to see any of that in the F1. Besides: what constitutes a 'fight' or a 'race' is quite different in boxing and F1 - you cannot compare it like that.
i did say there were differences , but in that scenario, the results the same the fans feel unfairly treated and have ultimately paid a high ticket price for the main event, ill say one thing a boxing match CAN last 12 rounds but doesnt have to, and an f1 race can last, oh lets be generous and say 5 laps and not the 2 hours the rule book says, anyway i cant continue with this , ive been told to be more sarcastic and less logical in my posts
Each to there own opinion , but mine is right on this lol( a page out of Rors book of phrases there) oh and because im missing him, smh smh smh, smiley face
Otherwise ill get another telling off by truepost, i feel put in my place by his masterful art of the English language language
We shant shun True Post whilst he remains the king of rhetoric. Know your place, young Englishman, or be banned from the kingdom.
No. An illogical comment.
Please stick to your opinions , sooner or later Julia , you'll get one right, no only joking , lets see what spa does about it ...
Julia, you expect logic from Shrop'? Hardly his area of expertise. You should read MY posts to form your opinions I am infallible while Shrop' is simply a sometimes humorous old sot. LOL
Couldn't agree with you more!! ReallyOldRacer talks sense.
This just goes to show Liberty Media and F1 cant organize a piss up in a brewery its all about the money money Have to agree with what Ham said and that's a first
Alas this is true,guilty ma lord, guilty as guilty can be and proud of it lol, i see f1 is about still no news about the Jaxster though, maybe hes stuck in the mud in Belgium , those Merc cars are pretty heavy
Yeah, I missed his/her banal race review. Actually, no JaxReview might be the highlight of the weekend.
I heard today jax offered a Mr Gachot, a taxi ride out of Spa and hasn't been seen since, rumours continue to circulate about his whereabouts
The same Gachot who went to prison for a bit thus allowing the real Michael Schumacher to make his F1 debut in Eddie's car? You know, he and Jos were best buds. They skied together in the Ardennes. Gach' taught Jos everything he knows about aggravated assault.
Ah right yeah i heard that, hes probably fine you know Jax , probably bored them into submission and by the real Michael Schumacher aka the real goat, well either way although if Jax starts telling Jos that Max is a bit of a pussy he might not get paid for the ride, skiing in the Ardenne sounds a nice bloke, funny how things turn out lol
Spa will favour Red Bull and especially as Lewis is still feeling the results of Covid. Let's hope he manages to even up the result from Spa's ridiculous 'race' results.I expect this comment to invigorate the usual anti-Hamilton brigade!!
The fair thing would be to refund people the cost of the single day ticket since they got to attend the events on Friday and Saturday. Perhaps a slightly larger ticket discount for next year's race as an inducement.
I heard rained out Wembley matches give no customer refunds. Maybe that's the precedence.
The problem with your seemingly sensible solution is the track, liberty, have both got to agree, a difficult one ......!!
Not forgetting that the porsche super cup race took place, so, factoring that in , very difficult decision and it'll set a precedent, easier way around it is when buying a ticket you pay a race cancellation premium with it ( voluntary choice ), should you wish then if the race/race day/race weekend is cancelled the insurance would pay out, that way the track doesn't lose , liberty does not lose and apart from an insurance premium the spectator doesn't lose imo
pretty sure we had the obligatory Porsche supercup support races at Indy in 2005 too, but at least there both F1 and IMS could turn to deep-pocketed Michelin to bear some of the ticket refund costs (which were less refunds than credits toward the next year's tix as I recall)
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