F1 bracing for intense rain ahead of Belgian GP race start

Formula 1 teams are bracing for a wet start to Sunday afternoon's Belgian Grand Prix at Spa, with an 80% chance of intense rain showers around the race's planned start time.

The skies above the Belgian Ardennes opened up on Sunday morning as expected, with a huge downpour forcing the FIA Formula 3 race to be scrapped.

Later on, the F2 feature race got off to a rolling start after four formation laps but, despite the advent of further rainfall, race control was able to get most of the race completed.

Conditions have fluctuated ever since, but the FIA's weather service is now expecting more intense showers to hit the track from 14:00 local time.

According to the Meteo France radar images, a cluster of thunderstorms is moving towards the Ardennes region from the Brussels area, potentially hitting the circuit around the 15:00 race start.

The chance for a wet start to the 44-lap event is set at 80%, with the rainfall risk gradually reducing down to 40% by the end of the following two-hour period.

Safety Car, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB16B

F1 officials will be desperate to avoid a repeat of 2021, when persistent downpours forced race control to first delay the start and then end the race after three laps behind the safety car, awarding half points without any green-flag running. The event led to rule changes the following winter over the number of points allocated in the event of a curtailed race.

McLaren's Lando Norris is set to start the race from pole after beating team-mate Oscar Piastri in qualifying. On the second row, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc narrowly outqualified reigning world champion Max Verstappen, whose Red Bull squad added significant amounts of downforce to his car in anticipation of a wet race.

Four drivers have opted for a pitlane start after making car changes under parc ferme rules. Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Aston Martin veteran Fernando Alonso have all had new power unit components installed, while Williams' Carlos Sainz has made set-up and aero tweaks. Sainz was the highest qualifier of the four drivers in 15th.