The Sao Paulo Grand Prix will take place earlier than scheduled on Sunday due to a poor weather forecast in Brazil.
Qualifying was already postponed until Sunday morning after severe thunderstorms and persistent rain prevented any running from taking place on Saturday afternoon, and with the better forecast earlier on Sunday the race start is also being changed.
Race start at Interlagos will now be 2.5h earlier — at 12:30 p.m. local time — as opposed to the original time of 3:00 p.m. — in order to try and give the best chance of getting a full race in.
The chance demands an early start for qualifying, with a target of 7:30 a.m. on Sunday morning to run the session. Should qualifying not take place for any reason, the stewards will determine how the grid will be set, for example by using the classification from a previous session this weekend or the championship standings.
“Following the conditions in Sao Paulo today, the decision was taken not to proceed with qualifying due to poor visibility, standing water on the track and fading light,” the FIA and F1 said in a statement. “Safety is always the paramount consideration in such circumstances, and while as much time as possible was given to allow conditions to improve, they sadly did not. We have huge appreciation for all the fans that stayed at the circuit in hope of seeing cars on track today.
“Therefore the decision has been taken, after consultation with the stewards, to schedule qualifying for 07:30 a.m. local time on Sunday morning ahead of the grand prix at 12:30 p.m. local. This will ensure we maximize 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.
“We thank everyone for their patience today including the fans, drivers, teams, marshals, circuit staff and media and hope to give everyone an exciting event on Sunday.”
