The heavy rain that hit the Interlagos circuit during the Saturday of the Brazilian GP has led the FIA to take a drastic decision, postponing the Race Qualifying on Sunday and reorganizing the entire weekend program. The weather conditions, already difficult to manage during the Friday sessions, worsened to the point of making the track unusable on Saturday afternoon, forcing the race direction to continually postpone the start of qualifying. Until it became clear that the situation would not improve.
Qualifying will therefore take place on Sunday morning, at 11 Italian time (30 local time), with the main race brought forward to 7 Italian time (30 local time). This is an exceptional change. It was made to ensure everyone's safety and to avoid the risk of a further postponement if the bad weather, also forecast for Sunday, were to worsen in the afternoon. The new race schedule will allow the FIA to have a larger margin of time in case it is necessary to postpone the start.
The dangers of rain and the problem of visibility
The decision comes after a day in which rain left the track in difficult conditions, with abundant water stagnation and reduced visibility. The F1 cars, with their powerful ground effect, contribute to generating a trail of water mist that drastically worsens visibility for the drivers following. Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, in an ironic but significant comment, joked with F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali saying: “Give us better wet tyres and tyre warmers, so we can ride in these conditions.”
The problem, as explained, is not only related to grip, but to poor visibility due to the large amount of water evacuated by the full wet tires. Pirelli states that the latter can drain up to 85 liters of water per second. Thus generating clouds of water that limit the vision of those in the rear. This situation is further aggravated by the new floors of the cars which, from 2022, contribute to lifting water also from the lower part of the chassis.
The official press release from the FIA, race brought forward to 16:30 with qualifying at 11:30
Faced with the impossibility of continuing the qualifications, the FIA has released an official statement in which it explained the reasons for the decision.
“Following the conditions in Sao Paulo today, the decision has been taken not to proceed with qualifying due to poor visibility., standing water on the track and gradually fading light. Safety is always the primary consideration in such circumstances. And although as much time as possible was given to allow conditions to improve, sadly that did not happen.
We have a huge appreciation for all the fans who stayed at the circuit in the hope of seeing the cars on track today. Therefore the decision has been made to schedule qualifying for 07:30 local time on Sunday morning before the Grand Prix at 12:30 local time. This will ensure that we maximise our chances of offering fans a day of race action.. Given the current weather forecast for tomorrow afternoon. And both the FIA and Formula 1 believe that this time change is necessary and the right thing to do for all our passionate fans. We thank everyone for their patience today. Fans, drivers, teams, stewards, circuit staff and the media. We look forward to providing everyone with an exciting event on Sunday.”
The challenge for teams
With this new schedule, Sunday will become a real race against time for the teams. It will be essential to find the right set-up in the few hours before qualifying and the race. With the variable weather making everything even more uncertain. The drivers will have to rely on the team's strategy and quickly adapt to the conditions they find on the track, with the aim of maximising their chances of success.
