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On the other hand, Red Bull expressed surprise at the lengthy delay. Helmut Marko admitted Red Bull had chosen the wrong set-up for the actual conditions but suggested that \u201cwith the right race director,\u201d the set-up would have been the right one. Max Verstappen<\/a> wasn’t impressed by the race director’s calls either: \u201cIf you can\u2019t see properly, you can always lift.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Poor visibility, though Verstappen wanted to race immediately<\/p>\n In reality, the delay was the result of multiple factors and step-by-step decisions, Autosport has learned after the race. The FIA initially intended for the race to start on schedule at 3pm local time, with a formation lap behind the safety car as the standard protocol in such conditions. During this lap, race control listened to driver feedback.<\/p>\n According to the FIA, almost all drivers said visibility was still too poor to race at that point. Only one driver was willing to go racing immediately: Verstappen. The Dutchman voiced his opinion over the radio that a couple of laps behind the safety car would have been enough to clear most of the standing water on track. Alex Albon<\/a> shared a similar view behind the wheel and said it would be good to get some laps in before more rain would hit the track.<\/p>\n But based on the feedback of the majority of the drivers<\/a>, a red flag was shown. At first, the FIA considered restarting the race after a short 10-minute pause. However, the rules require the race director to issue a \u201c10 minutes warning\u201d to teams ahead of a restart. The FIA then noticed more rain was expected around that time, effectively ruling out a quick restart.<\/p>\n Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLaren<\/p>\n Photo by: Michael Potts \/ Motorsport Images<\/p>\n Why didn’t the three-hour race clock start running?<\/p>\n This also raised another question: had the three-hour race clock started yet? Even the teams weren\u2019t aligned. McLaren<\/a> told Lando Norris<\/a> in pitlane that it hadn\u2019t, since the race hadn\u2019t officially begun. Haas team boss Ayao Komatsu, however, interpreted it differently. The confusion is understandable. Article 5.4d of the sporting regulations states: \u201cIf the formation lap for the race is started behind the safety car, the maximum total race time of three hours will commence at the time the green lights on the start gantry are illuminated to signal the safety car will leave the grid in accordance with Article 49.2.\u201d<\/p>\n This is exactly what happened at 3pm local time. However, the FIA clarified that this section of the regulations only applies in the case of an actual race interruption, not during the starting procedure. This meant the race had not officially started, and parc ferme conditions were still in effect. Teams were not allowed to change their set-ups in anticipation of drier conditions.<\/p>\n It seemingly hurt teams with a higher-downforce set-up, including Red Bull, but team boss Laurent Mekies later clarified that they wouldn\u2019t have changed the set-up anyway, even if it had been allowed by the FIA. \u201cWhen the formation lap was then suspended, you still expect to have a fair bit of wet running at that moment. I don’t think we would have changed anything, even if parc ferme was open, because we were expecting to go back on track much earlier than what we eventually did.\u201d<\/p>\n Once the race did start, multiple factors caused the extra safety car laps and a rolling start call<\/p>\n According to the FIA, the post-red flag rain lasted about 30 minutes. After that, officials waited a bit longer before sending the medical car out on track at 4pm local time to gather feedback on the track conditions. Karl Reindler reported back to race control that several sections still had significant standing water and recommended that marshals be given another 10 minutes to clear the surface. This brought the timeline to 4:10pm for the \u201c10 minutes warning,\u201d and cars leaving pitlane at 4:20pm. Notably, the FIA initially announced \u201crace will be resumed,\u201d which was later corrected, as the race had never officially started.<\/p>\n![\"Lando](\"https:\/\/cdn.motorsport.com\/images\/mgl\/0mbBJng2\/s1000\/lando-norris-mclaren-oscar-pia.jpg\")
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![\"Charles](\"https:\/\/cdn.motorsport.com\/images\/mgl\/0oOyJDP0\/s1000\/charles-leclerc-ferrari-lando-.jpg\")
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