Formula 1 has seen its fair share of race delays over the years, but few come close to the sheer absurdity of what happened at Monaco in 1981.
Most delays in grand prix racing are relatively straightforward affairs, caused by barriers needing repositioning after support race incidents or weather threatening the safety of the circuit.
A kitchen fire causing a one-hour delay to arguably the most prestigious race on the calendar is something else entirely, and it remains one of the sport’s most bizarre stories.
Drivers had been preparing for a 3.30pm start around the streets of Monte Carlo when an incident completely outside the F1 paddock brought proceedings to a standstill.
The fire broke out at the Loews Hotel, now known as the Fairmont Hotel, which sits at the tight hairpin section of the Monaco circuit located near the famous tunnel.
Fire crews extinguished the blaze in the hotel kitchen, but the water used to do so had to go somewhere, and it inevitably followed gravity down toward the lowest point nearby.
That lowest point happened to be the Monaco tunnel, meaning the circuit’s most enclosed and dramatic section was now flooded ahead of the scheduled race start.
The prospect of F1 cars on dry slick tyres plunging into a water-soaked tunnel surrounded by concrete barriers was enough even for the safety standards of that era to trigger a delay.
At 4.30pm local time, one hour behind schedule, the race finally got under way and it proved well worth the wait for the thousands of spectators packed around Monte Carlo.
Nelson Piquet had started from pole position in his Brabham and led much of the race, looking every bit a likely winner deep into the contest.
With just 22 laps of the 77-lap race remaining, Piquet approached Tabac corner where Eddie Cheever and Patrick Tambay were battling, and he moved to the dirty side of the track to overtake both drivers.
The move backfired badly as Piquet locked up and crashed into the barrier, ending his race and opening the door for the drivers behind him.
Williams driver Alan Jones inherited the lead but began suffering terminal problems with his Cosworth V8 engine with around ten laps remaining.
Ferrari’s Gilles Villeneuve was perfectly placed in second and hunted down the Australian before sweeping past him on the straight with just four laps left to run.
The Canadian secured his first race win since 1979, with Jones limping home in second place and Jacques Laffite taking third for Ligier in a memorable Monaco finish.