Following the wet 2021 Belgian Grand Prix, held in treacherous conditions at Spa-Francorchamps, F1 now has a new event atop the leaderboard in terms of the shortest race ever contested. Won by Max Verstappen, there was no racing in Belgium as a handful of laps were completed behind the Safety Car before the race was called off and half points were awarded. All in all, there have been five F1 Grand Prix events won in less than an hour, as we take you through the list of the top 10 shortest F1 races.
2005 Italian GP - 1 hour, 14 minutes and 28 seconds
Given the speeds at Monza, it's no surprise to see three Italian Grand Prix appear on this list. The 2003 event saw Juan Pablo Montoya take the chequered flag in his McLaren after starting from pole position. Teammate Kimi Raikkonen actually set the fastest time in qualifying, however the Finn was dropped 10 spots after changing his engine. This opened the door for the Colombian to lead every lap and win by 2.5 seconds over Renault's Fernando Alonso, with Giancarlo Fisichella rounding out the podium in the second R25. The race also saw the entire 20-car field finish, a feat that hadn't been achieved since the 1961 Dutch GP.
2003 Italian GP - 1 hour, 13 minutes and 19 seconds
The second race at Monza on this list saw the Tifosi head home happy as Michael Schumacher won in a Ferrari in under 75 minutes. With an average speed of 247.585 km/h, the German crossed the line 5.2 seconds ahead of Montoya in the Williams, with Ferrari teammate Rubens Barrichello completing a double podium for the Scuderia by finishing third.
2001 Belgian GP - 1 hour, 8 minutes and 5 seconds
Schumacher won the 36-lap race in his Ferrari, beating David Coulthard and Fisichella to the finish line. The German's victory saw him move past Alain Prost on the all-time career wins list with his 52nd. However, it wasn't the only talking point to emerge from the originally scheduled 44-lap race. A crash involving Jaguar's Eddie Irvine and Prost's Luciano Burti on Lap 5 at Blanchimont brought the race to a halt. Burti's car lost its front wing and slammed into the tyre barrier at 240 km/h. The Brazilian was kept in hospital for over a week with facial bruising and a concussion. The first four laps weren't counted towards the restarted race, though the order the cars were in at the end of Lap 4 was. As a result, the race distance was reduced to 36 laps with an 18-car field.
1978 Italian GP - 1 hour, 7 minutes and 4 seconds
Another race at Monza saw Niki Lauda come out on top in his Brabham ahead of teammate John Watson and Ferrari's Carlos Reutemann. The race was marred by the death of Lotus' Ronnie Peterson, who was hit from behind by James Hunt. The Swede's car crashed into the barriers and caught fire, with Peterson suffering severe leg injuries. His condition worsened as the night went on before passing away the following day due to a kidney failure. The race was reduced from 52 laps to 40 and completed in a little over an hour and seven minutes.
1984 Monaco GP - 1 hour, 1 minute and 7 seconds
Heavy rain made the 1984 Monaco GP a messy affair, as the race was initially delayed for 45 minutes. Things eventually got underway, but with Prost leading the race, the rain intensified and then Race Director Jacky Ickx waved the red flags to stop the race at the end of Lap 32. It was a controversial decision as Toleman's Ayrton Senna was quickly closing in on Prost, who had waved to the stewards that he thought the race should be stopped. The red flag was waved as Senna passed Prost, however the positions reverted to the last lap completed by every driver. This meant that Prost took the win ahead of Senna, while Tyrrell's Stefan Bellof rounded out the podium. Tyrrell's results were later erased due to weight infringements, thus giving third place to Rene Arnoux.
1975 Austrian GP - 57 minutes and 56 seconds
Heavy rain fell at the Osterreichring, now known as the Red Bull Ring, prior to the start of the 1975 Austrian GP, delaying proceedings. The grid eventually formed after a 45-minute day, with Ferrari's Lauda starting on pole ahead of Hunt and Emerson Fittipaldi. Rain intensified, meaning that only 29 of the scheduled 55 laps were completed before the race was called off, with March driver Vittorio Brambilla recording the only win of his seven-year F1 career by 27 seconds over Hunt and Tom Pryce.
2009 Malaysian GP - 55 minutes and 30 seconds
The 2009 Malaysian GP started in dry conditions, however that came to a screeching halt when the rain began to fall on Lap 19. By Lap 31 torrential rain hit the Sepang International Circuit, with the likes of Sebastien Buemi and Sebastian Vettel spinning out despite being on wet tyres. The race was eventually stopped on Lap 33, with the results taken from the classification at the end of Lap 31. In the end, Jenson Button took the win in the Brawn-Mercedes car ahead of Nick Heidfeld and Timo Glock.
1975 Spanish GP - 42 minutes and 53 seconds
Held at the Montjuic Circuit near Barcelona, the 1975 Spanish GP saw Jochen Mass take his sole F1 victory in a McLaren ahead of Ickx and Reutemann. Unfortunately, the race is remembered for the tragic accident involving Embassy Racing's Rolf Stommelen on Lap 29. The German's rear wing broke and he crashed into the barriers, with the impact sending him back out on the road. Brabham's Carlos Pace tried to take avoiding action but collided with him. The incident resulted in the death of four spectators, while Stommelen suffered a broken leg, broken wrist and two cracked ribs. The race also saw Lella Lombardi become the first woman to score World Championship points after finishing sixth in the March-Ford.
1991 Australian GP - 24 minutes and 34 seconds
The final race of the 1991 F1 season was won by Senna ahead of Nigel Mansell and Gerhard Berger. The Brazilian had already clinched his third World Championship with McLaren before heading to Australia. Torrential rain fell at the start of the race and, although an effort was made to complete the event, conditions worsened. The red flag was waved on Lap 16, with the official results declared following the end of Lap 14. The result benefitted Mansell, who crashed into the wall the lap before the race was called, however it wasn't enough to stop McLaren from taking home the Constructors' Championship.
2021 Belgian GP - 3 minutes and 27 seconds
It will be tough to run a shorter race than the 2021 Belgian GP, which was called after just three of the scheduled 44 laps were completed behind the Safety Car. The results were thus taken from the end of Lap 1, giving the race win to Max Verstappen, who started from pole ahead of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton. The second-place finish was Russell's first career F1 podium.
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