Qualifying for the São Paulo Formula 1 GP in Brazil could not be held on Saturday due to heavy rain. The session was postponed until Sunday, before the race.
This is a rare decision that was taken by the race management. Due to heavy rain on Saturday, November 2, qualifying for the Formula 1 São Paulo Grand Prix was delayed for several hours before finally being postponed to Sunday. The session should take place in the morning, a few hours before the start of the race at 6:00 p.m. (Paris time).
“The decision was taken due to the lack of visibility caused by the rain we have experienced in recent hours. There is a lot of standing water on certain parts of the circuit, which makes the conditions dangerous,” explained the FIA in a press release at the end of the day. A decision regarding the departure time “will be taken as soon as possible”, the federation also indicated.
The window to organize the qualifications is not long, as the weather forecast predicts a lot of rain for Sunday. A big storm is even forecast between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m., which could well have consequences on the progress of the race.
Verstappen penalized after the sprint
The rain did not disrupt the sprint race, which took place before the qualifying session. Lando Norris (McLaren) won ahead of his teammate Oscar Piastri (McLaren).
Max Verstappen (Red Bull) crossed the line in 3rd position, but a five-second penalty imposed subsequently dropped him to 4th place. This sanction, which benefits Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), was decided for having gone too fast by 0.63 seconds under virtual safety car regime. It is distinct from the five-place penalty that the three-time world champion will observe on the starting grid for Sunday's race, due to an engine change.
This sprint allows Lando Norris to come back to 44 points behind leader Max Verstappen in the drivers' standings. For the constructors' world championship, McLaren increases its lead to 34 points over Ferrari and 63 points over Red Bull.
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