#SaoPauloGP Qualifying postponed to tomorrow morning due to torrential rain. #F1
The FIA Safety Car doing checks around a rain-soaked circuit. Qualifying, Formula 1 Lenovo Grande Premio De Sao Paulo 2024, Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace, Interlagos, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Image credit to Clive Mason/Getty Images. Sao Paulo Qualifying Postponed, Brazil GP Qualifying Postponed F1 Brazil Qualifying Postponed.
Sao Paulo Qualifying Postponed – Qualifying for tomorrow’s 71-lap Formula 1 Lenovo Sao Paulo Grand Prix has been postponed until tomorrow morning ahead of the race after torrential rain and storms hit the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace circuit half-an-hour before the session was due to begin at 1500 local time.
The 100km Sprint race was run on Saturday morning in dry conditions with Lando Norris winning ahead of McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri.
But between the sessions it began raining at the track, with the FIA allowing the teams to close their garages because of the heavy downpour.
The rain intensified and was accompanied by a thunderstorm, which prompted race control to delay the start of the session immediately.
20 minutes after the original time that qualifying was set to begin, the sporting governing body, the FIA, sent their medical car out to test the conditions whilst the marshals were trying to clear the standing water off the circuit, but there was still too much water to allow the qualifying action to begin.
At 16:15pm local time, the rain got heavier once again, with the provisional starting time continuously pushed back 15 minutes every-time.
The next update from the FIA pushed the qualifying start time to 17:00 local time if the conditions were suitable. The sun was setting at 16:21pm local time meaning visibility also would have affected track running so the session was postponed and will be run tomorrow morning.
The FIA’s Statement read: “The Qualifying for the São Paulo Grand Prix is postponed. 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.” Credit to FIA for the quote.
Rain forecast tomorrow in Sao Paulo will be consistent throughout the day with the heaviest due around the Grand Prix.
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#F1 #BrazilGP: @OscarPiastri pips @LandoNorris to #SaoPauloGP #F1Sprint pole.
