Heavy rain at the Interlagos track canceled the qualifying session for the Brazilian Grand Prix, and Sunday’s race will now start 90 minutes earlier than planned due to more rain expected.
Organizers said qualifying was postponed on Saturday after a two-hour delay, and no cars were able to complete any laps.
“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,” Formula One’s governing body FIA said on social media.
“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.” Qualifying will now happen on Sunday at the Sao Paulo circuit.
The FIA stated that qualifying will begin at 7:30 a.m. local time (10:30 GMT), and the Grand Prix start time has been moved up from 2 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. (15:30 GMT).
“This will ensure we maximize the chances of providing the fans with a day of racing action and both the FIA and F1 believe this change is necessary and the right thing to do for our passionate fans,” the FIA said in a statement.
More than 60,000 fans began leaving the stands shortly after the announcement on Saturday that there would be no qualifying that day.
Earlier, McLaren driver Lando Norris won the Formula 1 sprint race, reducing his gap to championship leader Max Verstappen.
But Norris had to thank his teammate Oscar Piastri for helping him win at Interlagos. Red Bull’s Verstappen finished in third place but dropped one position because of a virtual safety car rule violation.
The difference between Norris and Verstappen, with four races and one sprint race left in the season, is now 44 points. Norris started in second place on the grid, and late in the 24 laps of the sprint race, Piastri let him pass.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who still has a slim chance at the title, finished in fourth, just ahead of his teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. The stewards moved Leclerc up to third after the sprint race, placing him ahead of Verstappen.
Mercedes’ George Russell, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez followed, all in points positions.
Norris sounded frustrated on the team radio about Piastri’s speed for much of the sprint race. “I am not sure what I am doing here, mate,” Norris said. “I thought we spoke about this.”
Later, Norris said McLaren had performed well as a team. “I am not proud about it but we worked well as a team together so I thank Oscar,” he said. “Oscar deserved (a win) but we did what we had to do.”
At first, Piastri did not give more details about the McLaren decision. “A great day for the team and a lot of points. We learned a lot for the race tomorrow,” he said.
Later, when talking to journalists, Piastri called the race “a bit of a tricky one.” “(Giving way to Norris) is not as fun as winning,” the Australian driver said. “But we’ve been talking about this for months now.”
Three-time champion Verstappen will find it difficult to compete with the McLarens in Sunday’s race. He has received a five-place grid penalty after changing his engine for the sixth time this season—the maximum allowed is four.
The stewards stated in their decision that Verstappen was “above the minimum time at the virtual safety car end” during the sprint race.
The Dutch driver received a five-second penalty that moved him down to fourth place. He also earned one penalty point, bringing his total to seven for the last 12 months.
The tribute to legendary three-time champion Ayrton Senna was also postponed. His title-winning McLaren will be driven by one of his biggest fans, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton.
