More than an hour later than planned, the Monaco Grand Prix in Formula 1 has started. Max Verstappen and the other drivers were to start the race at 3 p.m. through the narrow streets of the principality, but shortly before that it started to rain heavily. The race management initially decided to postpone the start by at least fifteen minutes. After two laps behind the safety car, the red flag was raised, signaling that the drivers had to go back to the pits.
In the pit boxes of their teams, the drivers waited for the rain to stop. Shortly after 4 p.m., the 77-lap race could still start. That happened behind the safety car. Overtaking was not allowed for the first two rounds; after that the safety car disappeared from the track and it was possible to race on the wet asphalt.
Canadian Nicholas Latifi already braked behind the safety car in the first lap and pushed his Williams into the guardrails. He had to go to the pits to get a new nose for his car.
Max Verstappen was initially not happy with the postponement. The Dutchman, who had not progressed further than fourth place in qualifying, was hoping for rain. “What are they waiting for? Until the weather turns dry?”, he said to his team from the starting grid over the on-board radio. Verstappen thinks he has a better chance of winning in Monaco in such circumstances, where overtaking is normally next to impossible.