Extratropical cyclone threatens to disrupt F1 Sao Paulo GP
F1 braced for potential disruption at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix amid severe weather warnings.
F1 is bracing itself for weather disruptions at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix after an extratropical cyclone warning was issued.
Brazil’s National Institute of Meteorology has warned of a cyclone forming in the south of the country on Friday evening.
The Sao Paulo area, where Interlagos is located, could experience between 30mm and 60mm of rain per hour, while wind speeds could reach up to 100km/h.
The worst of the conditions are expected late Friday into Saturday, but it is unclear how on-track running could be affected. Travel could also be impacted by the severe weather.
Unpredictable conditions are expected on Saturday, which could led to disruptions and give F1 and governing body the FIA a headache.
What options does F1 have?
The sprint race is due to take place at 11am local time (2pm UK), with regular grand prix qualifying set to get underway at 3pm local (6pm UK).
F1’s sporting regulations state that there must be a minimum three-hour window between the end of the sprint and the start of qualifying.
That gives F1 a maximum delay window of 2-3 hours to play with to ensure the sprint race is completed by 2pm at the latest.
With sunset around 6.30pm local time, qualifying for the main grand prix would likely need to be underway before 5pm at the latest.
Should conditions not be deemed safe enough, a decision could be taken to cancel the sprint race altogether, or move qualifying back to Sunday, when the weather looks better.
This happened during last year’s race in Brazil.
A torrential downpour forced qualifying to be postponed until Sunday morning, leading to an extremely long and hectic day.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen produced a performance for the ages by winning from 17th on the grid in a chaotic grand prix.
New rules introduced this year could see the grand prix starting grid decided on championship position, in the unlikely event that qualifying could not take place at all.
Lando Norris leads the championship by one point from McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri, with Verstappen 36 points adrift in third.
Lewis regularly attends Grands Prix for Crash.net around the world. Often reporting on the action from the ground, Lewis tells the stories of the people who matter in the sport.
