Heavy showers, which had all but prevented running in Friday's single free practice session, continued to wreak havoc on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, with the start for Saturday afternoon's sprint delayed by 35 minutes.
Eventually the race got under way after five formation laps to clear out some of the standing water and try to reduce the spray that limited visibility, a topic that has been put back on the agenda since the fatal accident of Formula Regional driver Dilano van 't Hoff in a Spa race held in similar conditions.
Drivers were appreciative of race control's efforts to do everything it could to hold out for improved track conditions and clear water off the racing surface, while still getting a shortened 11-lap race in.
But many felt that while the track itself was ready to race on, the visibility problems caused by spray were still as bad as they've ever been.
"I was in fourth gear down the straight, not even full throttle, and I couldn't see George [Russell]'s light in front of me," AlphaTauri's Daniel Ricciardo said when asked by Autosport to relay how bad the issue was.
"In the end, obviously I'm glad we got the race done. Everyone I think is safe, but visibility... it's a shame.
"I've been doing this for a while now, and I don't remember it like this. Obviously, the last few years it's been bad. But five, 10 years ago we raced in these conditions.
"We want to race, because the wet is also fun. But honestly, I think the onboard captures it well that we really don't see. Anything above probably fourth gear, you're just like this [crosses fingers]."
Source: Autosport