At 5.18pm, the pitlane light went green, marking the race start, and Bernd Maylander led the field away in the safety car.
But drivers were once again complaining of the conditions and the red flag was waved after two laps; the cars returning to the pitlane for good.
As the second safety car procession counted as part of the race and at least two laps were completed, the result was declared. Half points were awarded because less than 75% of the race distance was completed.
With most finishing as they qualified, Daniel Ricciardo recorded his best McLaren finish in fourth. Nicholas Latifi finished ninth to make Williams one of only two teams to score double points.
But Perez dropped to the back from seventh on the grid after his early crash. Lando Norris lost out on points after incurring a grid penalty after his crash in qualifying; as did Valtteri Bottas who was penalised after causing one of the opening lap crashes at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
2021 Belgian Grand Prix race results
Results were taken after lap 1: the penultimate lap before the race was suspended
Position | Driver | Team | Time |
1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 3min 27.071sec |
2 | George Russell | Williams | +1.995sec |
3 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +2.601sec |
4 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren | +4.496sec |
5 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin | +7.479sec |
6 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri | +10.177sec |
7 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | +11.579sec |
8 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +12.608sec |
9 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams | +15.485sec |
10 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | +16.166sec |
11 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine | +20.590sec |
12 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | +22.414sec |
13 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo | |
14 | Lando Norris | McLaren | |
15 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | |
16 | Mick Schumacher | Haas | |
17 | Nikita Mazepin | Haas | |
18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | |
19 | Kimi Räikkönen | Alfa Romeo | |
20 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull |