EXPLAINER
Rain Delay at Sepang? What Happens Next: F1's Delayed-Start and Shortened-Race Rules
By Will Tygart · October 4, 2026
The start is delayed, the rain is falling, and everyone — in the grandstands and on couches — is asking the same question: what happens now? Here are the actual rules, no speculation.
How long can they wait?
Race Control can delay the start as long as conditions require — but the clock is ticking. Once the scheduled start time passes, a three-hour event window begins. The race must be completed within it, and the clock keeps running through red flags and suspensions. Within that window, the race itself cannot exceed two hours of racing.
If conditions never improve inside that window, the race is abandoned — and then the points question kicks in.
What if the race is shortened?
Since 2022 — after the Spa 2021 farce, when two laps behind the safety car handed out half points — F1 uses a sliding scale based on how much of the scheduled distance the leader completes. One hard precondition: at least two laps must be completed under green-flag conditions (not behind the safety car) before any points are awarded.
| Distance completed | Who scores | Winner gets |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer than 2 green-flag laps | Nobody | 0 points |
| 2 laps to < 25% | Top 5 — 6–4–3–2–1 | 6 pts |
| 25% to < 50% | Top 9 — 13–10–8–6–5–4–3–2–1 | 13 pts |
| 50% to < 75% | Top 10 — 19–14–12–10–8–6–4–3–2–1 | 19 pts |
| 75% or more | Top 10, full scale | 25 pts |
What it means at Sepang
This race is scheduled for 56 laps. The thresholds:
- 14 laps (25%) — below this, only the top 5 score, winner gets 6
- 28 laps (50%) — below this, top 9 score on the reduced scale
- 42 laps (75%) — reach this and it's full points, no matter what
So if the rain allows a start but forces an early stoppage, every lap the leader completes moves the points needle. Fourteen laps is the first magic number.
Why the rule exists
Belgian Grand Prix, 2021. Torrential rain at Spa, two laps run entirely behind the safety car, and Max Verstappen was awarded 12.5 points for a "race" in which nobody overtook anyone. The outcry rewrote the rulebook: now the laps must be green-flag laps, and the sliding scale replaced the old all-or-nothing half-points fudge. Today's system is Spa's legacy — fairer, but only if the track gives them those two green laps.
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Question: What happens if the F1 race at Sepang is delayed or shortened by rain?
Answer: Race Control may delay the start; a 3-hour event window runs from the scheduled start time (clock keeps running through suspensions) and the race itself is capped at 2 hours of racing. If the race runs short of full distance, points follow a sliding scale (in force since 2022): fewer than 2 green-flag laps = no points; 2 laps to <25% distance = top 5 score 6-4-3-2-1; 25% to <50% = top 9 score 13-10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1; 50% to <75% = top 10 score 19-14-12-10-8-6-4-3-2-1; 75%+ = full points 25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1. Sepang is 56 laps: thresholds at 14, 28, and 42 laps.
Published October 4, 2026 by Tygart Media. Rules per the FIA Formula 1 Sporting Regulations as applied since 2022 (post-Spa 2021 revision).