British Grand Prix starts behind the safety car in dullest launch in history at Silverstone and Twitter can’t contain its anger
Brief rain shower 'wreaks havoc' on Northamptonshire circuit forcing the race to begin with the yellow flags in place
THERE's little more exciting in the world of motorsport than the frantic few moments at the start of a Formula One Grand Prix.
Unless you were watching the British Grand Prix live from Silverstone, that is...
With the world primed and ready for another exciting instalment of the F1 season, a brief shower 'wreaked havoc' on the circuit, as race officials decided to play it cautious and start the race behind the safety car.
So, rather than watching Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg go toe-to-toe once more as their ongoing saga continues more furiously than ever, they were - by the sports law - ordered to tamely 'queue' their way around the track.
How very British.
And the ever-outspoken world of Twitter didn't hold back, with a series of scathing tweets.
Sun reporter Ben Hunt kicked off proceedings by saying: "WORST FIRST LAP OF THE SEASON....Rubbish. I'd be booing if I was in the grandstands....."
"Remember when men were men....Two-minute shower and we get a safety car start. If you think it is too wet, then drive slower. Simple."
And the rest of the Twittersphere was no less furious.
One user claimed: "I must be better than all of them then! I drove thru a puddle just the other week and I didn't crash."
Another quipped: "When F1 drivers are meant to be heroes and you've driven in worse conditions to grab some milk from Tesco."
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Former Formula One star Johnny Herbert lashed out at the decision, claiming: "Drivers should be tested in all condition, including wet ones."
Meanwhile, fellow racer Dan Wells added: "If this was a Formula Ford race it would have been started properly..."
And Hunt summed up the situation succinctly, saying: "TV viewers switching off around the globe...."
With all the talk these days that F1 is 'boring' and 'predictable', it's hard to fathom what was going through the minds of race officials at the beginning of this one.
Fortunately for disgruntled viewers, once the safety car was brought in, racers flocked to the pits to change tires - and all hell broke loose, with drivers battling for position in the pit lane, almost crashing multiple times in the process.
One user wrote: "The pit lane more dangerous than starting the race from lap 1. Good job @F1 #F1"
You know what they say. Every cloud.