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Formula 1
Belgian GP
F1 Belgian GP Live Commentary and Updates - Race day
Minute-by-minute updates of the Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps
Live AppleTV Race Audio
Live Standings
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Summary
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- Belgian Grand Prix was set to begin 1425 BST (1525 local)
- Delayed start due to rain after two formation laps
- Race starts at 1717 BST (1817 local) for two laps behind the safety car
- Red flag returns - half points to be awarded with more than two laps completed
- Race will not resume. Max Verstappen, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton is the podium. It's a maiden F1 podium for Russell. Half points awarded.
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Leaderboard
- Verstappen, Red Bull
- Russell, Williams
- Hamilton, Mercedes
- Ricciardo, McLaren
- Vettel, Aston Martin
- Gasly, AlphaTauri
- Ocon, Alpine
- Leclerc, Ferrari
- Latifi, Williams
- Sainz, Ferrari
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Good afternoon everyone! The Belgian Grand Prix will begin in 30 minutes' time, and we'll be with you to take you through events as they happen. On that note...
Crash
Sergio Perez has put his Red Bull in the wall at Les Combes. He's been told that the car is too damaged to make the start of the race. A nightmare for half of the Red Bull garage.
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Red Bull team manager Jonathan Wheatley to Michael Masi: "Right front suspension damage is too extreme for us to continue."
Rain
Naturally, it's currently quite wet out there on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit - as it has been all weekend.
On a jovial note - could F1 have saved its drama at least until MotoGP finishes?
Twitter
The Eurovision approach to anthems continues, as the Belgian national anthem is belted out to a backdrop of, erm, rain.
Rain
Risk of rain: 100%. Well, it is raining, so it's bang on the money there.
The gazebos are still out, keeping the cars nice and dry. It looks like a high-tech Glastonbury out there on the grid.
Safety car
The formation lap will start behind the safety car, as it's very damp out there.
Five minutes until lights out - well, sort of, given it's a safety car start.
Breaking news
To nobody's surprised, DRS will be disabled until further notice.
Breaking news
We have a delayed start.
We'll get the formation lap in 10 minutes' time, as we wait for some of the rain to clear.
Kimi Raikkonen is starting from the pitlane, as Alfa Romeo has taken a gamble and replaced his rear wing - presumably to cope better with the conditions.
The delay has been further extended.
The formation lap will now apparently begin at 15:15 local time (or 14:15 for our UK followers). In other words, in nine minutes' time.
Make that 15:20 local time now - I haven't seen this many delays since the last time I got a Southern Rail train...
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"I don't know if you knew this, it's my 200th grand prix. It's kind of a deal in this neck of the woods," Daniel Ricciardo says over the radio.
There's a lot of fog on the course too. I don't know if you've ever done a wet race in F1 '97 on the PS1, but it looks a lot like that.
We've got another five-minute delay. Quelle surprise.
Video
Speaking of F1 on the PS1, let's plug a video while we wait for things to get going...
It looks like we might be about to finally get going for the formation lap...
Safety car
Here we go, then. Formation lap time - behind the safety car.
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"I already can't see anything guys," Hamilton reports.
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"I have to leave a little bit more space to the safety car because I can't see anything," says Verstappen.
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"Quite a bit of aquaplaning as well," Norris says. The drivers don't love it out there...
"It's fine to race," Verstappen says. He doesn't have any other cars ahead of him, so he's going to say that. The mid-pack drivers say it's undriveable, however.
Red flag
The start procedure has been suspended.
Stopping it is probably the most sensible call, it looks impossible to drive at the moment.
Rain
This will give a chance for the rain to clear too, so hopefully we'll get going when the weather eases a bit.
We might be waiting for a bit, so grab yourself a cup of tea, sit back and relax - we'll keep you posted on updates as they happen.
Breaking news
If you've just joined us and you're wondering "hey, where's the racing at", here's what's going on.
Breaking news
Red Bull trying to lobby for a potential reprieve for Perez, suggesting that the race hasn't officially started yet.
Are we going to have to dust off the Big Book of Belgium Facts to pass the time?
Fact 1: The saxophone was invented in Belgium in the 1840s, by a man named Adolphe Sax. One of the those facts that sounds fake, but is very true...
Fact 2: The big bang theory (the scientific theory about the emergence of our universe, not the terrible TV show) was first described by Belgian scientist Georges Lemaitre, two years before Edwin Hubble.
Fact 3: The town of Spa is the reason why spas are called spas. (What is this word "spa"? I feel like you're starting to say a word and you're not finishing it. Are you trying to say "spaghetti"?)
Breaking news
More relevant facts from Autosport chief editor Kevin Turner: Michael Schumacher holds the record for rain-affected world championship F1 wins with 18. Lewis Hamilton is second with 16. Can he get closer today, if we ever get going?
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