Sepang race start delayed by heavy rain, no new time yet

Rain has delayed the start of the Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang. The race was due to begin at 15:00 local time (16:00 KST, 07:00 UTC) on Sunday, and none of the reports we have read gives a new start time. Race Control announced a delayed start due to excessive rain.

Source: Formula1.com, PlanetF1. The two forecasts differ in timing and basis.

What happened

Grande Premio reported that torrential rain arrived about 20 minutes before the scheduled start, and that Race Control announced a delayed start due to excessive rain without a revised time. GPFans said lightning accompanied the rain and that teams and drivers were waiting in their garages. The FIA notice it quoted read: rain intensity had been steady for the last 10 minutes, no improvement was forecast for the next 5 to 10 minutes, and the medical car would go out shortly to report on track conditions.

Crash.net's live blog said drivers were on intermediate tyres on the way to the grid, and that the rain was patchy enough for parts of the circuit (Turns 7 and 8) to stay dry. It quoted Max Verstappen as saying new rain cells were developing and that it was a big deal for everyone. The outlets' timestamps do not agree (GPFans gives the original start as 16:00 local, the others 15:00), so we give no minute-by-minute timeline.

What the forecasts said

Formula1.com forecast a 30% chance of rain on Sunday, a high of 31C and a low of 23.5C, and said track temperatures could reach 46C, a heat hazard. PlanetF1 put the chance of rain at lights out at around 50%, falling as the race went on, and said a damp track could make for a wet-to-dry race. Neither forecast anticipated the scale of the downpour just before the start.

PlanetF1 also quoted Oliver Bearman as concerned that drivers have not run the current Pirelli intermediate and wet tyres much this season. Sepang usually dries quickly, but the warm temperatures and unfamiliar tyres add uncertainty.

What a late start changes

GPBlog explained that the three-hour maximum race duration only starts once the race is under way, so a pre-race delay does not eat into race time. The race is scheduled for 56 laps. The grid order is unchanged: Verstappen on pole, Lewis Hamilton second, Kimi Antonelli third.

For fans watching from Korea, that means this afternoon's broadcast may run later than planned. No session result exists yet, and this piece covers only confirmed facts at the delay stage. Check official channels for the new start time once it is announced.

What happened

What the forecasts said

What a late start changes

Sources