The intense storm of rain, lightning and thunder that half an hour before the start of the timed session settled above the Interlagos circuit led the organizers of the Formula 1 World Championship to postpone until this Sunday the session that must configure the starting grid of the Brazilian Grand Prix, the first of the last four stops of the closest championship in the last three years. The sprint test held in the morning allowed Lando Norris to cut two more points from Max Verstappen in the fight between both of them for the title, and that at the moment the Dutchman from Red Bull, leader of the general table with 45 points margin over the British McLaren.
At five in the afternoon, and after two hours of several consecutive extensions, the lack of light and accumulated water forced the stewards to conclude the action on the track, which will resume this Sunday morning, with the exact time start of the first round (Q1) still to be determined. “Qualifying will take place tomorrow to try to maximize this great event,” Stefano Domenicali, president of Formula 1, simply declared from the workshop lane. This is not the first time that the weather has altered the agenda of a test. The latest precedent is at the 2019 Japanese Grand Prix, in which Typhoon Hagibis forced the authorities to close the Suzuka circuit on Saturday, and concentrate timing and the race on Sunday.
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In any case, the weather forecast does not look very promising for this Sunday morning in the area of São Paulo where the circuit is located, a circumstance that could force the executives of the International Automobile Federation (FIA), who are with the help of the promoter (Liberty Media) to try to advance as much as possible both the official rehearsal and the race, initially scheduled for two in the afternoon local time, six in the afternoon in Spain. In the event that qualifying could not take place, but the race could, it is still not clear what the formation order of the cars on the grid would be, given that the regulations do not contemplate this scenario on a weekend with a sprint race in between. Yes, there is a possibility that it will take as a reference the first free rehearsal session, held this Friday. If this is confirmed, Norris would start first and Verstappen would start last, after having finished with the 15th best time and having been penalized with the loss of five seats for having resorted to the sixth power unit of his car, when the regulations contemplates a limit of four.
