The stewards at the Belgian Grand Prix have pushed back the time limit within which the race can take place, after heavy rain caused a long delay to the start at Spa. The Grand Prix was due to start at 1500 local time, but with rain falling consistently over the track, Race Director Michael Masi delayed the start by 10 minutes, and then a further 15 – after Red Bull's Sergio Perez fell foul of the conditions before the race even started when he crashed on his way to the grid.
Under the regulations, there were three hours from the scheduled start time within which to run the race. But as the rain continued to teem down, two hours passed with no sign of it easing off. And with just one hour left of the race clock, the officials announced they had stopped the clock – effectively allowing extra time to potentially get the race started, though any running would still be limited to that one hour.
