SEPANG, Malaysia (AP) — Heavy rain has delayed the start as Formula 1 holds its Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, around 3,750 miles (6,000 kilometers) away from its nominal host nation.

If Max Verstappen can convert his pole position into a win, he’d avert what threatens to become a first winless season for him since his rookie year in 2015.

No new time has yet been given for the start after heavy rain fell and thunder was heard. It would be the first wet race this year.

Lewis Hamilton starts second as he chases a second win since joining Ferrari. Standings leader Kimi Antonelli qualified fourth-fastest on a difficult Saturday for Mercedes but is third on the grid because of a penalty for Verstappen's teammate Isack Hadjar. Antonelli's teammate and closest title challenger George Russell will start seventh.

Teams will have to contend with the chance of sudden rain and an abrasive track surface which chews up tires.

The unusual circumstances of the race, which was relocated because of the Iran war, mean Verstappen can become both a three-time winner of the Bahrain Grand Prix and a two-time winner at the Sepang circuit, where he won the most recent Malaysian Grand Prix in 2017.

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