Formula 4 race abandoned after 17 seconds as FIFTEEN cars involved in horror crash

A Formula 4 race descended into chaos on Saturday as 15 drivers were caught up in a horror crash at the start line, with the event suspended after just 17 seconds.

The incident happened at Italy's Imola circuit in the second race of the day when one car failed to move once the lights had gone out.

A clip show havoc unfolding as other drivers attempted to drive around the stationary car, with one swerving out of the way and clattering into another rival.

A number of drivers struggled to get clear a handful of collisions visible, before a huge crash occurred at the back of the 39-car grid, with debris scattered across the start line.

Yellow flags could be seen waving manically at the start of the race, but many of the drivers on the grid could not see them. After the huge pile-up, a red flag was waved just 17 seconds in.

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It is understood that all drivers involved in the crash were unharmed.

Officials initially opted to suspend the race but later decided to abandon it altogether because of the track's noise curfew, according to the Sun. It's not currently known when the race will be rescheduled.

Some motorsport fans questioned why there were so many cars on the grid for this particular race, given that a regular Formula 1 race has 20 cars.

One fan wrote on Twitter: "You think 39 cars is a bit too much??!" Another said: "It's stupid that they have so many cars on the grid."

A third asked how drivers were not able to spot the unusual amount of yellow flags, as they said: "Was double waved flags not a clue to slow down?"

"What a monumental accident," said another fan. "One of the biggest single seater pile ups ever. Thank heavens everyone emerged unscathed from such a massive calamitous start."

In the earlier Formula 4 race - which was the promotion's first at Imola - Gabriel Gomez won by 0.616 seconds over rival Salim Hanna Hernandez.