02/11/2024
NEWS STORY
Today's qualifying session for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix has been postponed due to the weather conditions.
Ahead of the Q!, Race Control announced that there would be an update at 15:30, subsequently estimating that the session would get underway at 16:00, then revising this to 16:15.
Sweepers took to the tack to clear the standing water as rain continued and the skies darkened.
As the delay continued, having driven the track Race Director, Niels Wittich admitted that starting the session as it stood was "not possible".
Further updates, further delays... then another, until at 16:45 Race Control announced that the session was postponed.
"Unfortunately, we won't have any more track action today," tweeted Ferrari. "Qualifying has been postponed until tomorrow morning," added the Maranello outfit.
This was confirmed by F1 boss Stefano Domenicali, who revealed that qualifying would take place on Sunday, yet there was no official word from Race Control.
Finally, at 16:59 (local time), the FIA issue a statement.
"The Qualifying for the São Paulo Grand Prix is postponed," it read.
"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."
At 18:31 (local time) 21:31 GMT, after consultation with the stewards, the FIA announced that qualifying for the Grand Prix will take place at 07:30 local time (10:30 GMT) on Sunday morning ahead of the Grand Prix at 12:30 local (15:30 GMT).
"This will ensure we maximise the chances or providing the fans with a day of racing action and both the FIA and Formula 1 believe this time change is necessary and the right thing to do for all our passionate fans," said the FIA.
Check out our Saturday gallery from Sao Paulo here.