SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium -- Heavy rain delayed the start of the Belgian Grand Prix, where a topsy-turvy race appears to be in store.
Rain started just as the cars made their way to the grid and intensified in the 30 minutes of build-up on the grid.
A formation lap took place with cars behind the Safety Car but driver feedback was that visibility was too bad to continue.
A red flag was quickly waved when the cars returned to the pits, delaying the beginning of the race.
McLaren quickly told championship leader Oscar Piastri they expected heavy rain for at least 40 minutes, although weather radars suggest it will ease off after that.
The race eventually got underway from 16:20 local time with four laps under the Safety Car before a rolling start was issued by the race director rather than the traditional grid start.
Belgium's race has been synonymous with heavy rain in the past, with a famous multi-car pile-up on lap one of the 1998 race.
In 2021, the race finished after just two laps behind the Safety Car, prompting half points to be awarded to every driver.
After that incident, the rules were tweaked to avoid a similar incident.
Any race now needs two racing laps at least for any points to be awarded.
If less than 25% (11 laps at Spa), the top five get awarded points as 6-4-3-2-1.
If 25-50% of race distance is completed, the top nine are awarded points as 13-10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1.
If 50-75% of race distance is completed, the top ten get points, as 19-14-12-10-8-6-4-3-2-1.
Full points are awarded for anything above 75 percent of race distance.
