The Brazilian GP was red flagged after the Colapinto crash

The Brazilian Grand Prix in Formula 1 was red-flagged just before half-time after a serious accident involving Williams driver Franco Colapinto.

Colapinto was in 16th place and crashed on the 32nd lap on the main straight as the field was in safety car conditions due to the intensifying rain that had plagued the race. The Argentine, who was supported by thousands of Argentine fans in Sao Paulo, escaped unhurt.

The red flag messed up the order of the race at Interlagos. Drivers who had not yet pitted for new rain tires were rewarded by being allowed to change tires before the restart.

These include the new top three; Leader Esteban Ocon for Alpine, Red Bull's Max Verstappen and the second Alpine of Pierre Gasly.

The first race was led by George Russell, who overtook pole sitter Lando Norris at the start.

Russell and Norris both pitted under an earlier virtual safety car, dropping them to fourth and fifth. Just before the safety car came out, Norris overtook Russell for fourth.

Franco Colapinto, Williams FW46, Oliver Bearman, Haas VF-24

Photo by: Lubomir Asenov / Motorsport Images

Both drivers, as well as the RB cars of Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson, are being investigated for leaving the grid during the aborted start, which will be investigated after the race.

In the first part of the race, Verstappen had already moved up from his 17th place on the grid to sixth place, threatening Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc for fifth place.

Colapinto's accident caps a disastrous day for Williams as Alex Albon was unable to take part in qualifying on Sunday morning due to an accident.

Aston Martin's Lance Stroll also failed to make the start after spinning on the formation lap, triggering the aborted start, which is being investigated by the stewards, and shortening the race distance from 71 to 69 laps.

Hulkenberg, who triggered the first virtual safety car that lured most of the field into the pits, retired after being black flagged for continuing to drive despite assistance from the marshal.

Teams have been informed by race management that the restart will be a rolling start, but weather conditions still need to improve for the race to continue. The race is scheduled to start at 2:02 p.m. local time.

Photos from the GP qualifying and race in Brazil