The start of the Belgian Formula 1 Grand Prix sprint race, scheduled for 5:05 p.m. local time, was delayed due to rain falling again on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit on Saturday.
A few minutes from the start of the race, a heavy downpour fell on the Belgian Ardennes, leading the race management to postpone the deadline. For the moment, no new timetable has been communicated.
The cars were already on the starting grid when the decision was made, before the traditional formation lap.
A solid leader in the championship, Dutchman Max Verstappen will start ahead of Australian Oscar Piastri (McLaren).
Due to the showers which had already fallen just before qualifying on Saturday midday, these had started 35 minutes late. The time between the start of qualifying and that of the sprint being fixed at 4:30 a.m., the race was to start at 5:05 p.m. – and not at 4:30 p.m. as initially planned.
The Belgian GP is the third round of the year to offer a sprint format. With the sprint races, the Grand Prix qualifying is brought forward to Friday and determines the starting grid for the Sunday GP.
Saturday is essentially devoted to the sprint with a second qualifying session run on the same model as that of Friday – and which determines the starting grid for the sprint, with bonus points in the championship for the eight first.
