It's amazing. From the moment the circus arrived in Zandvoort, everyone has been singing its praises.

OK, overtaking is nigh impossible, as the Sprint clearly demonstrated, but it has character, history and presents its own unique challenge.

So why is this the last race here, you may well ask. Well, the answer is simple, the circuit cannot afford the hosting fees. Unlike Spa and Barcelona which will alternate slots from now on, Zandvoort once again becomes part of the sport's history, like so many other circuits (and teams) before.

But hey! We have the Madring... Qatar and all those other tracks wonderful tracks so let's stop complaining.

Sadly, there is a lot of sickness on the grid today. While Max is complaining of flu-like symptoms, Kimi is feeling off, and has been all weekend, while the Ferrari and McLaren drivers are mystified by the bugs affecting their cars.

And then there's Aston Martin, where Fernando and Lance are discovering that the Honda upgrade isn't the route to recovery they were hoping for.

While we can expect a little more derring-do than witnessed in the Sprint, today is likely to be equally processional - and trust us, considerable effort was put into persuading your editor not to skip the race for the Coyote vs ACME movie which is currently showing at his local movie theatre.

(Note: The editor has phoned the theatre to check whether it is going to be filled with kids. Seemingly not, though he has his fingers crossed it isn't.)

Indeed, the race could pretty much be decided on the opening lap, which should witness a thrilling fight between Norris, Russell, Antonelli, Piastri, Hamilton, Leclerc and the Red Bulls.

The battle behind should be just as intense, with the Audis, RBs and Alpines looking well matched, however, again, much will depend on the opening lap.

It's worth noting that since returning to Zandvoort in 2021, the pole-sitter has always gone on to claim victory.

According to Pirelli, the quickest strategy is a one-stop, starting on the medium and running until laps 27-33 before switching to the hard for the remainder of the race. An alternative, around one second slower, involves starting on the soft, using it until the window between laps 26 and 32, and then finishing the race on the hard.

In clean air, two-stop strategies also look competitive on paper, but it is necessary to take into account the limited overtaking opportunities available around the circuit.

A third stint could be considered in the event of a VSC or to take advantage of an undercut during the race, provided traffic conditions allow. The degradation levels recorded on Saturday, thermal in nature, were limited and, given that drivers are more likely to manage their tyres during the race, should not be decisive in determining strategy, at least for the two harder compounds.

Verstappen and the Ferrari pair have one set of fresh softs, the Dutchman and his teammate also having two sets of fresh mediums, however, unlike their rivals they only have one set of hards apiece.

Of course, yesterday Leclerc was one of only two drivers to start the Sprint on the softs, and the fact that he was pressurising Russell 24 laps later may well cause a number of drivers to consider the red-banded rubber as their starting tyre today.

Perez is starting from the pitlane following changes made to his suspension overnight. Claims that this is in any way related to the mishap that saw the front of his car rudely dropped ahead of the Sprint are thought to be wide of the mark.

Six minutes before the pitlane opens... it begins to rain. Coyote vs ACME can wait until tomorrow.

The pitlane opens, Bearman is first out, followed by Russell, Ocon, Gasly and Colapinto.

Air temperature is 17 degrees C and the track temperature 27 degrees, the coolest it's been all weekend.

"It's too wet for slicks at the moment," reports Bearman, as Verstappen heads out on full wets. Lawson goes off and into the gravel but is able to continue.

"The first half is really dry for Inters, but the second half is very wet," reports Antonelli.

Let's not forget that most of the drivers have not experienced these cars in the wet so this is a step into the unknown.

Just over twenty minutes before the start it stops raining, Fred Vasseur claims the initial laps will be "damp" not wet.

As the sun attempts to break through, the wind is helping to dry the track. However, this is on the grid, we don't know what the other side of the track is like, and that's what Antonelli was referring to earlier.

All are starting on softs bar Norris, Russell, Antonelli, Piastri, Gasly, Colapinto and Ocon, who are on mediums, while the Cadillacs are on hards. Fresh rubber for all bar Leclerc, Lawson, Bortoleto and Lindblad.

They head off on the formation lap though in fact it is an installation lap behind the Safety Car before a standing start.

Norris leads the field on to the grid.

They're away! It's a poor start from Russell, as Norris leads and Antonelli and Piastri are quick off the line.

Into Turn 1, Norris is ahead of Antonelli and while Russell is on the inside of Leclerc, who has made a great start, he is still losing pace. Behind, Piastri is on the inside of Hamilton, who forced Verstappen wide at the start, with the Red Bulls right behind.

Indeed, the Red Bulls are battling hard, and following slight contact at the start they touch again in Turn 3.

At the end of Lap 1, it's: Norris, Antonelli, Russell, Leclerc, Piastri, Hamiton, Lawson, Lindblad, Gasly and Colapinto.

No sooner have they crossed the line however than the race is red-flagged.

Verstappen, having dipped a toe on to the wet patch at the bottom of the banking, loses it and spears into the wall opposite. Immediately behind, Bortoleto has his own moment, the Brazilian spinning 360 but somehow avoiding the wall and continuing as though nothing happened.

Verstappen apologises to his team. "Sorry," he says. It was a big crash, the back of the car wrecked.

Replay shows Lawson and Gasly did well to avoid Verstappen and his debris, while Albon accuses Ocon over overtaking him at the scene of the crash.

Hulkenberg also did brilliantly to avoid his spinning teammate. "I almost T-boned him," he admits.

"Is he OK, that was huge, is he OK?" askes Lawson of his teammate.

Lindblad has been noted for a yellow flag infringement.

At the restart the leaders remain in the same order, with just a few changes further back.

Lindblad and Colapinto face penalties for yellow flag infringements, while Ocon passed Albon after the yellow flag so there will be no further action.

The race will re-start at 15:33.

The field heads out for a second attempt. Norris on softs and Piastri on hards, Antonelli has stuck with the same mediums, as has Russell.

Leclerc is on fresh softs, Hamilton on used, Lawson is on more used softs, Lindblad is now on mediums, and Gasly has put on a second set of mediums.

The grid forms, but further back Bearman has pulled off at Turn 11. "Everything broke, everything turned off," he reports.

As the Haas is pushed to safety, there is another formation lap.

Check out our Sunday gallery from Zandvoort here.