After a Sprint won by Lando Norris and marked by a McLaren F1 double, it is time to determine the starting grid for Sunday’s race. But a surprise guest is present in Sao Paulo, since the 28 degrees in the air have given way to torrential rains.
The McLaren drivers were the favorites before this change in weather for pole position, but they will obviously have to avoid pitfalls and deal with Ferraris and Mercedes who could also do well.
Max Verstappen is also a candidate for the best time, but the Red Bull driver received a 5-place penalty for an engine change and will therefore not be in pole position, regardless of his qualifying result.
With completely new asphalt, rain could be difficult to deal with, as it often brings out the oil present in the tar. Hopefully the cleaning carried out on the bitumen will have limited this phenomenon.
18h51 : Qualification is delayed due to rain. A new update will take place at 7:00 p.m. French time.
19h00 : The track is impassable, the next update will take place at 7:30 p.m.
7.30pm : The FIA declares that the “estimated start time” of the qualifying session is 8 p.m. French time.
19h45 : The start of the session is now estimated at 8:15 p.m.
19h58 : It’s 19 degrees and the track temperature is 24 degrees. The humidity level is necessarily maximum, at 94%.
20h02 : The start of qualifying is now estimated at 8:30 p.m.
20h15 : The session is now scheduled to start at 8:45 p.m.
20h24 : Thunderbolt! Red Bull has called for an investigation into McLaren and possibly other teams as Max Verstappen’s team accuses its main rival of using water in the wheels to cool tires during races. The FIA is already looking into the subject (read here).
20h31 : The session is now delayed to 9 p.m. French time…
20h46 : The qualification is officially postponed, although we do not yet know when it will take place. It will be tomorrow, but at what time… we will keep you informed as soon as we know more with an update of this text!
20h54 : F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali confirms that the FIA is working to schedule qualifying early tomorrow: “We can’t control the weather, it’s sad but it’s not safe enough to drive and darkness is coming. This is the plan, the FIA is checking the timings to organize the qualifiers to follow the plan, because It’s a great event and we want to maximize it as much as possible, provided the conditions are good.”
20h57: Statement from the FIA on the postponement of qualifying and when we will know what time it will take place on Sunday:
“Qualifying for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix is postponed.”
“This decision was taken due to the lack of visibility caused by the level of rain we have experienced over the last few hours. There is a lot of standing water on parts of the circuit, making conditions dangerous.”
“While we would all love to see competition on track, the safety of drivers, team members, volunteers, officials and spectators is our top priority.”
“A decision on the start time of qualifying tomorrow morning will be made as soon as possible.”
9:01 p.m. : Lewis Hamilton interrupts Stefano Domenicali: “You should have sent us to the track! That’s ridiculous. We could go out at some point. If you give us better rain tires and electric blankets, we could ride. That’s stupid.”
