Max Verstappen won a rain-shortened Belgian Grand Prix that finished late into the evening amid torrential conditions at Spa-Francorchamps. Half points were awarded as more than two laps - but less than 75 per cent of the race was completed.
The scheduled start time came 30 minutes after Sergio Perez crashed on the way to his grid spot in the wet weather, with the rain showing no signs of relenting. After a 25 minute delay, a brace of formation laps behind the Safety Car followed, before Race Director Michael Masi threw the red flag.
"After many more delays, the race finally resumed - more than three hours after it was set to start - with the clock to tick down from one hour as Masi did everything in his control to try to get a race up and running," F1 said in an official statement.
But only a handful laps behind the Safety Car followed before another red flag, and Verstappen pulled back into the pits ahead of second-place Williams qualifier George Russell and third-place Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton.
Most of the field would thus finish where they had qualified, with half points their consolation on a gloomy day at Spa, as it was finally announced the race would not resume.
F1 is back next week for the second of Verstappen's home races as Zandvoort makes its long-awaited return to the F1 calendar - with thousands of fans expected to grace the beach-side circuit. The title battle continues on September 3-05, Hamilton leading the championship by three points over the Dutchman.
( With inputs from ANI )
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