Heavy rain at the Interlagos circuit has canceled qualification for Sunday’s Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix.

Organizers announced that Saturday’s session local time was postponed after a two-hour delay.

Qualifying will now take place on Sunday at the São Paulo circuit. More than 60,000 fans began emptying the stands shortly after the announcement.

Earlier, McLaren driver Lando Norris won the sprint race, thanks in large part to teammate Oscar Piastri, closing his gap on championship leader Max Verstappen.

Red Bull’s Verstappen finished third but lost a position due to a virtual safety car violation.

The difference between Norris and Verstappen, with four grands prix and a final sprint race until the end of the season, is now 44 points.

Norris started second on the grid and, at the end of the 24-lap sprint race, Piastri gave way to him.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who also has a good chance of winning the title, finished fourth, just ahead of teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. The stewards’ decision after the sprint race pushed him into third place ahead of Verstappen.

Mercedes’ George Russell, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez were next best and within the points positions.

Norris seemed annoyed on the team radio by leader Piastri’s pace for most of the sprint race.

“I’m not sure what I’m doing here, man,” Norris said. “I thought we talked about this.”

Norris later said that McLaren had done a good job.

“I’m not proud of it, but we worked well as a team, so I thank Oscar,” he said. “The Oscar deserved (a win) but we did what we had to do.”

At first, Piastri did not elaborate on McLaren’s decision.

“A great day for the team and many points. We learned a lot for tomorrow’s race,” he said.

Speaking to reporters afterwards, Piastri described the race as “a little complicated.”

“(Giving way to Norris) is not as fun as winning,” said the Australian driver. “But we’ve been talking about this for months.”

Verstappen, a three-time champion, will find it difficult to beat the McLarens in Sunday’s race. He received a five-place grid penalty after changing his engine for the sixth time this season; the maximum allowed is four.

He was also hampered by a safety car violation, with stewards saying the defending champion was “over the minimum time at the end of the virtual safety car” during the sprint race.

The Dutchman received a five-second penalty that dragged him down to fourth place. He also received one penalty point and now has a total of seven in the 12-month period.

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.

AP/ABC