Austrian GP delayed after Sainz' Williams catches fire

The start of Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix was aborted and delayed by 10 minutes after Carlos Sainz was unable to leave the grid in his Williams for the formation lap.

After taking a push from the marshals, the Spanish driver chased after the rest of the field and was set to start from the pit-lane until his rear brakes caught fire.

The race distance was reduced by one lap to 70 laps.

Sainz's car was beyond rapid repair and he was forced to withdraw from the race.

The conditions for the race were hot with air temperatures touching 32 degrees Celsius and the track temperature recorded at 54 degrees.

"I cannot tell you the temperature of the seat," said two-time champion Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin as he waited for the re-start.

"It’s maybe 200 degrees!"