In hindsight, Oscar Piastri’s wry smile was indicative of the events that followed. Sitting on pole for Saturday’s sprint race, the Australian was powerless to stop Max Verstappen storming past him on the first racing lap.

Max Verstappen and Lando Norris were in opposition to one another before Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix was even allowed to get underway due to safety concerns over the rain

F1 world championship leader Oscar Piastri extends his title lead over Lando Norris to 16 points with his sixth win of the season; Charles Leclerc beats Max Verstappen to third, as Lewis Hamilton recovers from 18th to seventh;

He won in Australia at the start of the season when it hammered down. He won at Silverstone last time out when it also poured with rain. Now Lando Norris is hoping to make it a hat-trick of wet weather wins for the year after claiming pole position at a Spa circuit which is braced for its traditional race-day monsoon.

The Belgian GP was suspended four years ago due to heavy rain, with just two laps taking place behind the safety car. However, after a change in the regulations, at least two proper racing laps must take place on Sunday for points to be awarded.