(Sao Paulo) Heavy rain that fell on the Interlagos circuit forced the postponement of the qualifying session for Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix.
Posted at 11:03 a.m.
Updated at 4:48 p.m.
Mauricio Savarese
Associated Press
Organizers announced that the session had been postponed on Saturday after a two-hour delay.
The tribute to the legendary triple world champion Ayrton Senna has also been postponed. His victorious McLaren will be driven by one of his biggest fans, Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton.
PHOTO CARLA CARNIEL, REUTERS
The safety car completed laps in the rain on Saturday afternoon at the Interlagos circuit.
“The decision was made due to the lack of visibility caused by the level of rain we have experienced in recent hours. There is a lot of standing water on parts of the circuit, making conditions dangerous,” the FIA, Formula 1's governing body, said on social media.
“While we would all love to see competition on the track, the safety of drivers, team members, volunteers, officials and spectators is our main priority. »
Qualifying will take place on Sunday at the Sao Paulo circuit. More than 60,000 fans began emptying the stands shortly after the announcement.
“A decision on the start time of qualifying tomorrow morning will be made as soon as possible,” the FIA added.
Earlier in the day, McLaren driver Lando Norris won the sprint race, closing his gap on championship leader Max Verstappen. But Norris had to thank his teammate Oscar Piastri for giving him victory at Interlagos.
PHOTO MIGUEL SCHINCARIOL, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Oscar Piastri devant Lando Norris
Red Bull's Verstappen finished third, but lost a position due to a virtual safety car violation.
The gap between Norris and Verstappen, at four Grands Prix and one final sprint race before the end of the season, is now 44 points.
Norris started second on the grid and, late in the 24 laps of the sprint race, Piastri gave way to him.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who still has a chance of winning the title, finished the race fourth, immediately ahead of teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. The penalty to Verstappen, however, caused Leclerc to gain a place.
George Russell (Mercedes), Pierre Gasly (Alpine) and Sergio Perez (Red Bull) were next and placed in the points.
Quebecer Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) finished 19e among the 20 drivers in the race, just behind his teammate Fernando Alonso.
Norris appeared upset on team radio by leader Piastri's pace for most of the sprint race.
“I'm not sure what I'm doing here, buddy,” Norris said. “I thought we talked about it. »
Later, Norris said McLaren had done a good job.
“I'm not proud of it, but we worked well together as a team and I thank Oscar,” he said. “Oscar deserved the win, but we did what we had to do. »
Initially, Piastri did not elaborate on McLaren's decision.
“A great day for the team and lots of points. We learned a lot for tomorrow’s race,” he first analyzed.
Speaking to reporters later, Piastri described the race as “a bit tricky.”
« [Céder la place à Norris] is not as fun as winning,” admitted the Australian driver. “But we’ve been talking about it for months. »
Three-time reigning world champion Verstappen will struggle to beat the McLarens in Sunday's race. He was punished five places on the starting grid after changing engines for the sixth time this season. The maximum allowed is four.
The stewards said in their decision that Verstappen was “above the minimum time at the end of the virtual safety car” during the sprint race.
The Dutchman received a five-second penalty which dropped him to fourth place. He also collected a penalty point, and now has seven in total for the 12-month period.
Check the sprint race rankings
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