Heavy rain caused a change to the program for the Grand Prix weekend in São Paulo. Qualifying has to be postponed to Sunday.
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- For the sixth time in Formula 1 history, qualifying has to be postponed to Sunday.
- In São Paulo, heavy rain caused a change to the program.
- The last time qualifying had to be postponed was five years ago.
Rain had been forecast for Saturday in São Paulo. The sprint race at the Autodromo José Carlos Pace could still be run on a dry track. But then the rain came - and how. At times it poured down like a bucket. It was impossible to start on the scheduled date. Even waiting did not help. The external conditions did not change within the allotted time. All that remained was the decision to postpone. The qualification is to be rescheduled for Sunday.
Qualifying is to be rescheduled for Sunday. As rain is forecast again, the start time for the Grand Prix will also be adjusted. The start will take place at 16:30 instead of 18:00 Swiss time. Qualifying is scheduled to start at 11.30 am.
It was the sixth time in Formula 1 that qualifying had to be postponed to Sunday, the first time in five years. Back then, a typhoon disrupted the Japanese Grand Prix program in Suzuka.
In 2004, a typhoon warning and heavy rain again made the postponement unavoidable in Suzuka, and in 2010, heavy rainfall at the same venue again made it impossible to qualify at the scheduled time. At the 2013 season opener in Melbourne, the battle for grid positions took place in two parts. The first part was held on Saturday, while the second and third sections had to be made up on Sunday. Finally, in 2015, torrential rain in Austin, Texas, also prevented qualifying from taking place on Saturday.