The Monaco Formula 1 race on Sunday started 16 minutes late. Many drivers and also many fans wondered why the Grand Prix did not start regularly at 3 p.m. Although it had already rained, most drivers felt that the conditions would have been passable.
However, as it emerged after the race, another problem had caused the delay: a power outage that affected the systems and signaling panels on the grid. This later also prevented a standing start after the red flags.
Actually, the race should have started punctually at 3:00 p.m., but after the onset of rain, the start was postponed to 3:09 p.m. before the FIA moved it back to 3:16 p.m. a second time, where the field was behind the safety Car went on the journey.
The FIA originally said race officials “observed a heavy rain shower moving rapidly towards the track” and that the decision to suspend the start procedure was “taken for safety reasons and given that there was no rain this weekend rounds were held in the rain”.
But after the race it turned out that a power failure was the cause. Although the problem was fixed in time for the first start behind the safety car, it was then decided that there would be no standing starts.
Since the 2020 season, races after a red flag can again be continued with a standing start in the grid. That could have been done both after the first stoppage due to heavy rain and after the second stoppage due to Mick Schumacher’s accident.
