Spa soaked by rain ahead of F1 Belgian Grand Prix with more forecast
Rain strikes in Belgium ahead of F1 Belgian Grand Prix
There was heavy rain overnight at Spa, ahead of Sunday’s F1 Belgian Grand Prix.
It was still raining significantly on Sunday morning in Belgium.
The Formula 3 race on Sunday morning was red-flagged twice and eventually cancelled due to the wet conditions.
The Formula 2 feature race has since been able to get underway.
The circuit was soaked, first thing on Sunday, as the paddock slowly started to fill with F1 teams, media and everybody else who works around the grand prix.
Spa-Francorchamps is a date on the F1 calendar which can be notorious for wet weather.
In 2021, the Belgian Grand Prix became the shortest in F1 history. It lasted only three laps, all behind a Safety Car, with Max Verstappen declared the winner.
Weather forecast for F1 Belgian Grand Prix
Today, the Met Office forecast that the heavy rain will continue until midday, when the sun will break out.
At 2pm UK time, when the F1 Belgian Grand Prix is scheduled to start, the FIA's official forecast was a 40% chance of rain.
F1 teams will be plotting their tyre strategies to tackle the conditions.
Oscar Piastri, who starts on the front row, admitted he hoped for a dry race.
“It’s Spa, so high chance of rain," Piastri said.
"But that can also mean it just sometimes hits half the track and the other half stays dry.
“Could be in for a Silverstone-esque chaotic race, similar to Australia or Silverstone. The ones that are sometimes a bit in the middle."
Last year in Belgium, Lewis Hamilton won for Mercedes.
But he endured a dreadful Saturday and will be on the starting grid in 16th.
In this article
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
Lewis regularly attends Grands Prix for Crash.net around the world. Often reporting on the action from the ground, Lewis tells the stories of the people who matter in the sport.
