Qualifying for the F1 Brazilian GP was postponed due to heavy rain

Qualifying for the Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix was postponed until Sunday due to heavy rain at the Interlagos circuit.

Half an hour before the start of qualifying for the Grand Prix on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. local time, it started to rain.

The sprint race took place in dry conditions on Saturday morning, with McLaren's Lando Norris winning ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri.

But between sessions it began to rain heavily over Sao Paulo, and the downpour, accompanied by a large thunderstorm, caused race management to postpone the start of qualifying indefinitely.

About 20 minutes after the original qualifying start time, the FIA ​​sent out the Medical Car to survey the conditions while marshals attempted to clear water from the track, but there was still too much standing water to cope Action can begin.

At 4:15 p.m. local time it began to rain heavily again, the provisional start time for qualifying was continuously checked and moved back every 15 minutes.

Marshals sweep water off the track

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

The FIA's latest update brought forward the start of qualifying to 5:00 p.m. local time if conditions were suitable, but Sao Paulo's sunset time of 6:21 p.m. ran counter to organizers' efforts to get a qualifying session on the books, such as It was the case last time that the FIA ​​had no problem letting cars run on the track.

At 4:45 p.m. local time, race management finally decided to postpone the session and the FIA ​​​​will now decide when it can organize a qualifying session on Sunday morning.

“The decision was taken due to the lack of visibility caused by the heavy rains in recent hours,” the governing body said in a statement. “There is a lot of water on parts of the circuit, making the conditions unsafe.

“As much as we would all like to see competition on the track, the safety of riders, team members, volunteers, officials and spectators is our top priority.”

“A decision on the start time for qualifying tomorrow morning will be made as quickly as possible.”

If a session cannot take place on Sunday morning, it is unclear at this point how the starting lineup will be determined. This could be done based on the times set in FP1, Sprint Qualifying or Sprint Race.