A prolonged intense storm caused the postponement of classification in the Brazilian Grand Prix on Saturday, when deteriorating conditions and poor light put an end to the day’s action at Interlagos.

The start of the race is advanced

The session has been pushed back to Sunday morning in the hope that the weather will improve, but forecasts suggest that may not be a foregone conclusion.

Officials later said that the classification will take place on Sunday at 12:30 (SA time) with the start of the race brought forward 90 minutes due to weather concerns and will begin at 17:30 (SA time).

As night began to fall on Saturday, the drivers greeted fans at the pit wall, giving the large crowd that had waited for more than two hours in the rain a reward for their patience.

Formula One boss Stefano Domenicali confirmed the postponement and praised fans inside the circuit for their patience and support.

“First of all, the fans here are incredible,” he told F1TV.

“But unfortunately we can’t control the weather and it’s simply not safe to drive. It’s that simple and problems with lighting make it worse too, so there’s that.

“The plan now is to run in the morning and the final check will be done with a plan and details for the day.”

Safety car deployed

He added: “I have to say that the fans here are unique and we thank them for waiting so long, but it is impossible to race today.”

The safety car was deployed to assess conditions several times and stewards used brooms to clean up deep puddles of water around the circuit, in the paddock and in pit lane.

After several inspections, it was announced that the organizers hoped to start the session at 16:15 local time, but this proved impossible.

Many of the fans were Argentine supporters of Williams’ Franco Colapinto, who made an impressive start to his F1 career this year as a mid-season replacement for American Logan Sargeant.

Mercedes driver George Russell said: “It looks very wet out there, but maybe in some places it’s okay, in other places there are big puddles.”

Grid penalty for the Brazilian Grand Prix

His teammate, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, joked that he wanted upgraded rain tires so he could go out in the rain, a suggestion Domenicali laughed off.

“Lewis wants to run,” he said.

“But it’s too dark for that.”

World champion and series leader Max Verstappen will start the race with a five-place grid penalty for changing engines, the sixth of the season.

Verstappen was penalized earlier on Saturday for a breach of Virtual Safety Car rules that cost him seconds and dropped him from third to fourth place in the sprint race behind the triumphant McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri with Charles Leclerc promoted to third place for Ferrari.

This result allowed Norris to cut the Dutchman’s lead in the title race by three points, to 44, with four Grand Prix and one sprint race remaining this year.

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