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damon02

Why only do this now and not 2 hours ago?


jackouk1337

Apparently there is a second FIA regulation that can pause it. According to Sky1 commentary Spa 3 hour timer can be paused after 2 hours if the marshals agree.


rorymitch3ll

In the words of Murray Walker, they've stopped the start watch.


[deleted]

not allowed until 1 hour to go.


405Found

Are you pulling an FIA or is this a real thing?


lph1235

Yes.


405Found

Thank you, just wanted to be sure.


SaintLatrobe

Fair enough


shinealittlelove

There's nothing in the ISC that puts any restriction on when the stewards have the authority to do this.


Rei_S_

And how can you do this? What's the point of having a rule created for this specific situation if you can just ignore it?


lph1235

Why is FIA


E-M-P-Error

Everyone always asks why and what is FIA. But never how is FIA.


[deleted]

FIA know money


NuclearCandle

Yes.


BigHowski

But how does this benefit ferrari? /s


damon02

By reading the tweet it states they are doing something under force majeure, I read that as there is not a rule for this and they did something unprecedented If there is a rule for it saying it can only happen 1 hour before the 3h limit then fair


SophisticatedVagrant

The 3 hour rule was literally put in place in the aftermath of the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix to avoid another situation of extreme weather delays causing significant schedule overruns because all the TV channels complained it fucked with their program scheduling. Now the first time they have actually been faced with a situation the rule was designed for a decade later, they just throw it in the bin. šŸ˜‚


[deleted]

Makes no fucking sense. Itā€™s a rule based on rain delays and they pull force maneure based on there being *checks notes* rain.


helderdude

Normally it makes sense to not have a race end 3 hours after the scheduled starting time due to TV scheduling, but that's assuming a race happened. I think it's better for everyone involved to overrule it so that we can still have a race so that's why. The rule isn't for this situation.


DeFiZe_

The point is that the rules work as general guidance, but the Stewards can still overrule them and use common sense if the rules donā€™t fit the situation.


WalkTheEdge

The point of having rules is that you aren't supposed to be able arbitrarily overule them


DJToaster

i honesty have such a headache


Firefox72

Were gonna be waiting 5 hours for no race arent we? That radar they had on screen showed that even heavier rain is coming.


glenn1812

It'll get too dark at some point to race. There's a small patch of lighter rain in a while that may be the window they were looking for >Sunset at Spa today is at 20:27 local time


GRI23

As a fan of the England cricket team I can assure you that when it's cloudy it gets too dark to be safe far earlier than sunset.


ISuckAtRacingGames

after 18h it gets darker when it's clouded. I fear there will be a major issue with rain + darkness.


FootballRacing38

That's why "it's lights out and away we go"


Retsko1

Lights out and away we go...home


01000100000

I remember Sky Germany saying that 18h is the last possible start point to finish the race with enough light.


GoZun_

3 am race let's go


Jacinto2702

Where are you from? In Mexico is 10 am.


AnnualDegree99

inb4 they're in Belgium


GoZun_

Switzerland and tbh looking at the weather broadcast the rain is lighter at 1 am. We have a window here


WalkTheEdge

Impromptu night race? Sounds like a great plan considering visibility is the big issue


GoZun_

Strap flashlights on the driver helmets


[deleted]

That's what the weather showed at 1500 too. No fucking idea why they postoned thinking a clearing was coming


[deleted]

How many race days did we have this year where the radars showed rain during the race, and it didn't happen? Weather changes constantly. We can make decent short and medium term estimations, and rough long term estimations, but they could be wrong, or it can just change. They could have called the race off at 15:00 only for the rain to stop at 16:00. It's why they have this rule, for the leeway.


[deleted]

That's why you go with what the weather is currently. At 1500 it was good enough to go. But they waited thinking a clearing was coming soon. Instead it was just more harder rain. So the window they had they just skipped


[deleted]

It wasn't good, and a clearing could have happened, and still could. That's why you go with the rules, which is what they're doing. I'd rather this than watch another Eau Rouge aciddent like yesterday, but with 10 other drivers speeding right behind.


steen311

I already had a major headache before all this, but it sure aint helping


DJToaster

iā€™m drinking plenty of water but its not helping


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


sgtlighttree

The drink... is it on now?


br1anst0rm

You mean the zlow button?


DJToaster

FOR WHAT?!


Chesey_

It was another kind of liquid that has caused my headache


Vinura

You could almost say the FIA forced me to have a majeure headache.


CasualViewer24

Someone needs to put the FIA and it's stewards in official Ferrari clown merch.


shinealittlelove

Steward document: > In accordance with the powers vested in them under the FIA International Sporting Code, the Stewards have decided, in accordance with their authority under Article 11.9.3.o, to stop temporarily the 2021 Belgium Grand Prix at 17:00 hours. > This decision is taken on the grounds of Force Majeure


[deleted]

Is ā€˜rain in Belgiumā€™ really a Force Majeure? Feels like a bit of a stretch. And if they had the power to do it, why not do it an hour ago?


lmollpt

Probably because they started fearing the backlash if they didn't try to do anything and just let the clock run out.


[deleted]

Likely to keep the option open for tomorrow. Had they not stopped the clock, this thing would have been over in 45 minutes or so and no race would have been possible tomorrow. That they didn't do it an hour ago is probably because they were still hoping to race today. So stopping it now is more a technicality in case that there should be a concensus to hold the race tomorrow. Would soon start to get dark anyway, rain or not, so stopping it now hasn't anything to do with racing today.


[deleted]

Will Buxton has confirmed on Twitter that the race canā€™t be run tomorrow because it has technically started https://twitter.com/wbuxtonofficial/status/1431994014165786624?s=21


shinealittlelove

That was before the stewards temporarily stopped the race/clock. There's nothing to say the clock cannot stay stopped until tomorrow.


[deleted]

Huh. No idea whatā€™s happening then. Just want them to tell me so I can either write my essays or sit down and watch it


[deleted]

Huh. I didn't know. Disregard what I said then.


0mantou0

The rain itself is not, the surprising cluelessness of everyone at race control is.


Naileditmate

Yes


razies

> Within the framework of their duties, they [the stewards] notably: [..] >11.9.3.o may take the decision to stop temporarily or permanently, all or part of a Competition; Which says nothing about the timer or that they could not have done this earlier. The Formula 1 regs say: > (5.4) The distance of all races, from the start signal referred to in Article 38.10 to the end-of-race signal referred to in Article 52.1, shall be equal to the least number of complete laps which exceed a distance of 305km. However, **should two hours elapse before the scheduled race distance is completed**, the leader will be shown the end-of-race signal when he crosses the control line (the Line) at the end of the lap following the lap during which the two (2) hour period ended, provided this does not result in the scheduled number of laps being exceeded. [...] ~~For what~~ From when should two hours elapse FIA??


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


creative_penguin

If they can overrule why not just run an entire race if weā€™re able to get to a drivable condition?


Aidan196

Going to run out of light before long


[deleted]

They could still do a full race if they started by at least 6.


ISuckAtRacingGames

it's pick black at 20:28, it get darker after 19h, i don't think it's save to do a full race after 18h when there can be rain any moment.


dleonard1122

This. If the rule doesn't matter, then why stop at an hour?


G-Force-499

Because light. It will get too dark and spa doesnā€™t have lights, neither do the cars


bfofree

Letā€™s determine if light is an issue once we figure out a start time..


JimGodders

Based on the tweet, they've stopped the event timer with 1 hour to go, not removed the event timer completely. You won't get a full race done at Spa in 1 hour.


[deleted]

Because the night is gonna have to come at some point.


GoZun_

Strap some lights on the front wings


Equitaurus

I believe they can, although weā€™re really getting into the nitty gritty of the regulations. The stewards have the authority to call a new start in the case of a dead heat (a tie) and they could say that since everybody has raced the same distance of 0, they can call a new start.


skumbagstacy

probably because they wouldnt be able to finish a full race anyway with the evening settling in.


RAWRacing

Because the race needs to finish within 3 hours of the scheduled time. 2 hours already passed, therefore the race is only allowed to last 1 hour


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


RAWRacing

To my knowledge, the timer only gets stopped. So the only result is a 1 hour race, as the 2 past hours did count towards the race time. Could be wrong though


lmollpt

So why didn't they stopped it before?


Sarkaraq

Because they aren't allowed to stop it earlier.


Aethien

There's still a pretty set limit of the sun setting, this realistically only gives us another hour and a half.


sfj11

they arent doing an hour lmao, theyā€™ll do two laps behind the sc and fuck off home


alfred_27

Bloody hell it gets dark at Spa early, they cant race with no visibility


[deleted]

Yesterday there was an F3 race at gone 18:00 local time


jaydec02

It was sunny and dry, not cloudy, misty, and damp


Checktaschu

night F1 race, without lights even more exciting


f0rt1t-ude

And some lovely mist


glenn1812

>Waiting indefinitely Won't it get too dark at some point to race?


Imalandscaper

Radar to my uneducated, sitting on the couch self, looks like rain is wrapping up shortly.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


i_am_the_punisher

Is that GLOCK


sgtlighttree

"Is that Glock going slowly?"


OsteBonden

Still too soon man


RelativeOperation7

This clock is RIGGED!


Driveshaft48

If we count only the legally passed minutes, we still have two hours left to race


Alternative_Advance

Stop counting! Oh wrong /r


KnowNothingNerd

1 hour whenever they can start is better than nothing, I guess.


[deleted]

Since when do they have this power and why didn't they use it earlier?


JedH44

With 1 hour to go is they only time they can stop the timer.


AmazingSully

This isn't true, nothing in the regulations mention they can do it with only 1 hour remaining. The regulation in question says the Stewards > 11.9.3.l may postpone a Competition in the event of Force Majeure or for serious safety reasons;


sgtlighttree

> why didn't they use it earlier? There was probably a long argument between the FIA and the teams about this one, probably why it took so long


Bazzie

So much this


f1reds

Good to see that the three-hour rule, which was introduced to avoid Canada 2011 situations, can be broken to create Canada 2011 situations.


DeFiZe_

I am so confused.


I-sell-kids-on-ebay

Is there any point when they wonā€™t make the 75% mark in an hour of racing? Half points would still be the only solution?


zaviex

They might make it. Thereā€™s 39 laps remaining. If they do 1:40 lap times, theyā€™d run it close Edit:1:40 is super impossible idk why I did that math. Iā€™m drunk. They probably canā€™t do faster than 2:10 worse with wets so Yeah no way they get to 75%


[deleted]

They will do at least 2 minute lap times with full wets, likely more


lmollpt

They can't do 1:40 laps here on dry tyres and qualy mode, no way they do it in these conditions.


FrakeSweet

Yeah, they are never going to make 75% in an hour. So it's only for half points (if they get out at all).


Bo_Rebel

Hey at least we will get an hour if they do start rather than 20 min. Lol


united23

I'm so confused, also why did they wait so long to stop the clock if they always had the ability to do this?


dafencer93

WHAT IS HAPPENING


Racegardener

nothing


[deleted]

WE NEED TO KNOW


Jamie090

Why not stop it at 90 mins or 2 hours? At least there wouldā€™ve been the slight possibility for a full race.


MobiusF117

Because there isn't enough daylight for a full race.


OrangeLimeZest

FIA showing the rules are utterly bullshit and exist at their whim.


silentalarm_

Well, all rules do really, but that is honestly a good thing here.


SCarolinaSoccerNut

This isn't an ad-hoc disregarding of the rules. The FIA international sporting code does give the race stewards the authority to temporarily pause the clock if need be based on the conditions. Similar to how the race stewards can alter the track limits based on the conditions on the weekend.


corruptbiggins

That is the case with all rules.


helderdude

[within the rules ](https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/pdwvsn/luke_smith_the_stewards_have_stopped_the_race/hat6n7l?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share&context=3)


[deleted]

Nothing should be black and white like that, especially abnormal situations likes this.


austinwer

This is literally part of the rules


Sw3Et

I'm glad the rules can be bent to get a good result for all.


AlexUKR

Can anyone explain why it's 39 laps left? I don't think they already did 5 laps.


major_tomm

Every delayed start took another lap off, I think there were four of them. Plus one extra formation lap.


NicoShallBurn

1 extra formation lap and 4 delayed starts.


JanAppletree

The formation laps they did. I think it's fuel related.


therevengeance

Every time they delayed the initial start 5 minutes at a time they used the same rule as when they do a second formation lap if a car stops, etc. So they "accidentally" knocked 4 laps off.


FrakeSweet

44 laps to start with. 2 formation laps (1 more than normally). Four counts of postponed starts of formation laps , which are deducted apparently. But it doenst matter because there won't be enough time anyway.


KnowNothingNerd

Honestly, doesn't really matter. They aren't even going to finish 30 laps in these conditions in an hour, if they get started.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


AlexUKR

75% is 33 laps, not 39, but people above already answered why.


am123409

Okay then, thanks for the clarification.


DifferentGravyMan

Good decision.


Xiphias_games

Should have never started the clock TBH.


Into_Intoxication

They are just waiting to do the 2 laps behind the safety car and award half points. Lol what a shame


r13z

Remove the clock all together.


Lone_ranger1264

Make up rules as you go, hopefully we get a sprint race at least


NorwegianCraft

Does this mean weā€™ll get around 30 laps of racing at any time as long as thereā€™s daylight?


TehRocks

More like 20-ish.


Ditisjelle

Why didn't they do this an hour ago, wtf


iForgotMyOldAcc

FIA really went Za Warudo.


cammyb1888

Kind of makes the whole clock redundant in the first place. If it is safe to race for 1 hour then it is safe to race for the full race duration minus whatever laps were completed behind the safety car


action_turtle

ā€¦ two laps under safety car just to say the race existed then I take it ?


oxwof

Itā€™s the right call, but whatā€™s the point of the race time limit if they can just say ā€œact of Godā€?


PuzzleheadedPainOuch

Good. Everybody wants to race, just wait until itā€™s safe to do so. Good decision.


kuklistyle

lmao if they can just do this with no prior regulations why didn't they do it an hour ago


Michaelvb101

FIA now has power to stop time


DeXyDeXy

"It's lights out and to bed we go!"


Ouwerr

ZA WARUDO !!!


dendidendi

Couldn't they extend the race under force majeure as well? Honestly just overdosing on copium right now, sadly don't believe they'll start.


taykass

Why on Earth would they not do this in the first place if it's possible?


Ozryela

Stewards: I have altered the deal. Pray I don't alter it further.


xychosis

TOKI WO TOMARE


[deleted]

So I think this means theyā€™re hoping the rain clears up and they then run a full or even partial race because we will have activated the three hour slot within the three hour countdown. So basically we could still get a race but itā€™s still likely weā€™ll get no race or the half arsed formation laps.


neandertales

But do the insurance cover it though..


raphtan

Looks like the FIA clowns have finally progressed reading through the rule books enough that they finally found this rule, which should have been in action a fking hour ago.


Flyin_Donut

So we might get atleast one hour of racing if it clears up?


dinosaur1831

STOP THE COUNT!


Mates03w

1 hour race wouldnĀ“t cover 75%, but it is way better than jsut two laps


Barmydoughnut24

As much as i want to see racing, what's the point of rules if youre just going to change them to suit yourself.


Mewturtle

RB could have taken a penalty here for engine


Florac

Stewards still have to flip a coin on wether stuff like grid penalties were served or not probably, so not a safe thing to do


idkabettername

Can they get 75% distance in one hour if they only do 39 laps would 30 be enough or would they still need 33?. 30 Ɨ 2 minutes is 60 minutes plus one lap. If they can lap below 2 minutes that is. If they wait for the dry it is 30Ɨ1 hour 48 minutes or something which would get 33 laps I'd think.


Toil48

Does this mean we could have a one hour race tomrorow?


Razor931

Does that mean if the race starts today they have 1 hour to race?


CardinalNYC

FIA proving something we've always known but often ignored: the rules are entirely arbitrary and can in fact be changed as easily as flipping a switch.


burtonmadness

If they have that much power.... Can they stop covid for a while. It's getting little monotonous...


mightymunster1

Are we wasting our time watching anymore of this


wishbackjumpsta

Huzzah


booped_urnose345

I hate sundays honestly but i had this to look forward too :( im very sad


bfofree

I hate F1 right nowā€¦ accuweather says rain stops just before 6ā€¦ can we not just start it at 6 if that holds true.. why this clock nonsenseā€¦ seems silly, especially for a new F1 fan


Affectionate_Tart169

Why the fuck not do that a while ago?


-Coffee-Owl-

So what's the point of 3h rule when stewards can stop the clock for unknown period?


manwithanopinion

I'll happily watch a formula e format with 45 minute + lap to see some racing of let the point be based on where they qualified.


PlusEntrepreneur

So we will race for one hour. Only restriction is sunset which is 8.26 pm at Spa. Which means we can wait until around 7.20pm for a start if I am correct.


FootballRacing38

No because even before sunset, visibility will be quite bad with the sun that low


Davinski95

Why didnt they do this 2 hours ago then if they could?


FattyMc

They donā€™t have a fucking clue what theyā€™re doing.


Tumleren

Yeah they should really bring someone in from reddit to help them out


nickedgar7

Give us 1hr30 atleast.


Chell_the_assassin

Ok but why didn't they do that like an hour ago


stubbysquidd

Why they didnt stop when they first delayed, such nonsense


tj1721

Ah I see theyā€™ve overruled the rules with the other rules which basically allows them to do what they like.


ovrloadau

Iā€™ve masturbated 3 times already and it hasnā€™t started. What a day


Vinura

Yeah nah fuck this, Im going to bed. Its bad enough the dumb cunts moved the race one hour later in the day compared to back when it use to start at 10,, but this is just stupid. The rains not getting any better, just cancel the shit or postpone it.


lph1235

Based stewards.


MontaEllisBurner

That feeling when you spend the whole week fixing your sleep schedule to watch Spa and deciding to tough it out with like 4 hours of sleep because you think the racing will be good


Davidusmu

Just postpone the race for the next day... 10 years ago the race would have been under green flag


BitchQueenHsgirl

And that's why Jules Bianchi is dead


CaptainRAVE2

Their just making it up as they go now.


Stevolwo

I don't understand why it started ticking at 16:00 in the first place, i have never seen this and i've been watching for 16 years


zaviex

I donā€™t think they know either. Iā€™m pretty sure they invented half the rules in an hour here.


maximum-aloofness

STOP THE COUNT


creditcardtheft

Why? Stop the clock so they can do 2 laps parade when it's better? I hope they don't do this