He avoided going off the track on the way to the grid, unlike Red Bull driver Sergio Perez, and three laps behind the safety car. He secured his first F1 podium. Verstappen has now reduced Hamilton's championship lead to just 3 points, while Williams bag 10 points with Russell's second placing, and Nicholas Latifi finishing 9th.
Hamilton was probably the most cynical of the drivers after finishing third, given his lead over Verstappen has been halved without an actual race. He sympathised with the large crowd that endured the rain and the cold, only to see the race stopped before it began, and believes they should get a refund.
"I feel real sorry for the fans today," Hamilton said. "It was no one's fault obviously with this weather, but the fans have been incredible today just to stick with us this whole time and hold out for a potential race. I really hope the fans get their money back today."
Hamilton likes to maintain his appeal with the fans, but did little to disguise what he really thought.
"Well money talks," he responded when asked if half points should have been awarded.
"It was literally two laps to start the race, all money scenario, so everyone gets their money and I think the fans should get theirs back too, because unfortunately they didn't get to see what they came and paid for.
"It's a shame we can't do the race tomorrow. Today wasn't a race. I think the sport made a bad choice today. Of course we wanted to race, but there is a minimum of two laps you need to do to count as a race, and between that gap of stopping the first time and the second time, it had rained consistently. So there is only one reason why they sent us out, so that's why I feel more bad for the fans."
The FIA has rejected the suggestion that money was behind the decision to try to have a race, stating in the end driver safety prevented that happening.
Hamilton makes a fair point about a fan refund and FOM (Formula One Management) will look into that, but you have to wonder if Hamilton would have been so critical if he had been the one on the top step of the podium.
Regardless of the self-interest aspect, undoubtedly if Red Bull boss Christian Horner was right to describe Hamilton's British GP win as a "hollow victory", you would have to say Verstappen's 16th Grand Prix win was even more hollow.
For the young Dutchman, this was a home Grand Prix, Part 1, given his mother was born in Belgium, and this weekend's Dutch GP at Zandvoort will be Part 2, as his father Jos was born in the Netherlands.
"It's a big shame to not do proper laps, but the conditions were very tricky out there," Verstappen said. "I said at 3.30pm, like, let's go. I think the conditions were decent, but the visibility was very low. So I think if we would have started at three o'clock, we had a better chance.
"I think for today, you know, big credit goes to all the fans around the track to stay here, you know the whole day in the rain and the cold, windy conditions. I think they are the bigger winners today."
Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel was critical of the decision to award points based on where drivers had qualified, which in his case was 5th.
"It's a bit of a joke, no? That's a joke," Vettel said. "If you want to get a reward for qualifying, you should get points for qualifying. What we did today, I don't know."
Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso was also critical.
"It was a terrible day, to be honest, for everyone," Alonso said. "Well, for some of them it probably was a bit of an early Christmas, because there were some gifts given today to some people because we didn't race, and they still get the position and still get the points.
"It's shocking. I'm P11 - the first idiot, in a way. I was not allowed to fight for points, but they gave the points. It makes no sense.
"It's sad for the people, the fans have been amazing all weekend. And you give them nothing in the race it's terribly sad, so it was a very strange day today."
The highlight of a very wet event, and ultimately an unsatisfactory outcome for many drivers and fans, was the qualifying performance of Russell. To put a car that has been consistently running in midfield, and often near the rear, into second spot on the grid was nothing short of extraordinary. In the lead-up to the race that wasn't, the media had been asking Russell, Bottas and Mercedes boss Toto Wolff if a decision on who would drive alongside Hamilton next year had been made.
Bottas and Russell toed the team line as both said they had "no news to share", whereas Wolff admitted a decision had been made and it would be announced in due course.
It seems a no-brainer Russell will get the nod based on his performance in Sakhir last year when deputising for a Covid-struck Hamilton, a race he would have won but for the team botching his pit-stop.
But Mercedes may have a problem with Bottas. Not a contractual issue, because he doesn't have one, but they might be concerned he will not support Hamilton in his battle with Verstappen, if he is rejected. Wolff is probably trying to find Bottas an alternative drive to ease his pain, before making the decision public.
On the other hand, if the decision is to retain Bottas, then Russell's manager, Harry Soden, should try to find him a top drive immediately, although openings are as scarce as hen's teeth.
Wolff said after Russell had qualified second at Spa that the result didn't change anything in terms of the decision to give him the Mercedes drive, or not.
"I think we know what we have with George," Wolff told Sky F1. "He's been outstanding in the junior categories, he's been outstanding at Williams, he's been outstanding when he's been racing [for Mercedes] in Bahrain.
"If I needed to have that ultimate proof, something would have been wrong. If it would have been an easy decision, we would have made it earlier because we know what we have with Valtteri and we know what we have with George. Both deserve to be looked after in the best possible way because both of them are part of the family and we hold them up high."
Hamilton's loyalty lies with Bottas because he wants a compliant teammate who he can beat, rather than an emerging talent like Russell who is confident, ambitious and would, like Nico Rosberg, be unwilling to play second fiddle to Hamilton.
As for his second placing in Spa, Russell said "we will take it, no matter what".
He says the team strategists had them down as the 17th fastest car on the grid.
"So to try and fight for the podium with the 17th fastest car on the grid would have been very, very difficult - but you've got to take it when it comes."
It's hard to argue with that, and clearly his podium is a reward for the qualifying performance. McLaren boss Zak Brown, despite his driver Daniel Ricciardo receiving 4th place points, is calling for the rule that allows for two laps to constitute a race, to be reviewed, stating "I don't think anyone would say today it felt right calling that a race."
Lando Norris, McLaren's leading driver, who had a huge crash at Eau Rouge during qualifying, perhaps summed up the whole situation best. He interrupted a Verstappen media interview to shake his hand and quipped: "Great race, mate. Unbelievable drive. I was catching you!"
The forecast for Sunday's Dutch GP is 25C, with only a small chance of rain, which should relieve the driver and fan pain felt in the farcical Belgian GP event.
