Sao Paulo GP qualifying postponed after repeated delays

The FIA has postponed Saturday’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix qualifying session due to adverse weather and fading light at the Interlagos track.

F1 teams were still in waiting mode over an hour and a half after the grid-defining session was scheduled to start when race control made the logical decision to call it a day.

However, it has yet to confirm its contingency plan which would likely involve a Sunday morning session, with a specific timing to be determined.

Conditions had been clear earlier in the day for the weekend’s Sprint event won by McLaren’s Lando Norris in front of teammate Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

• 2024 São Paulo Grand Prix - Sprint Race results

However, as the afternoon progressed, dark clouds gathered over the São Paulo circuit, and a heavy deluge quickly drenched the track.

The FIA responded by allowing teams to close their garage doors to protect equipment from the rain. Meanwhile, radar forecasts indicated that the downpour was likely to persist, and lightning was soon observed in the vicinity.

In light of the adverse weather and safety risks associated with lightning, race officials made the call to delay qualifying indefinitely.

Fans and teams awaited further news, but with no weather improvement on the horizon, officials eventually had no other choice but to cancel Saturday’s qualifying action.

There should be ample time to programme the one-hour session on Sunday morning, with weather predicted to be dry around Sao Paulo, although a rain front is forecasted to hit the track in the afternoon, promising a wet race.

A statement released by the FIA said: “The decision was taken due to the lack of visibility caused by the level of rain we have experienced in the past few hours. There is a lot of standing water on parts of the circuit which renders conditions unsafe. 

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

“A decision on a start time for qualifying tomorrow morning will be taken as soon as possible.”

A precise timing regarding Sunday morning's running will be provided on this page as soon as the organisers confirm the updated schedule.

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