Formula 1 drivers warned today’s Brazilian Grand Prix cannot go ahead in conditions as wet as yesterday’s qualifying session.
Saturday’s qualifying session was delayed by almost an hour and a half after heavy rain hit the Interlagos circuit during Q1. More rain fell as the session came to an end.Pole-winner Lando Norris said the first phase of qualifying took place in “some of the wettest conditions I think I’ve ever driven in before.”
But although drivers considered the conditions acceptable for qualifying, when the field tends to spread out, they warned trying to race in the same circumstances would bring unacceptable risks. Isack Hadjar said “the Q1 conditions would not have been race-able.”
George Russell, who set the second-quickest time in qualifying, said the risk of a serious crash in the poor visibility conditions was high.
“Q1 was extremely challenging,” said Russell, who is a director of the Grand Prix Drivers Association. “The visibility was zero down the straight into turn four.
“I was wheel-spinning in fifth gear [at] over 200kph, aquaplaning. When you’re aquaplaning on the straight and you can’t see in front of you, I’m not even sure what the word is to describe it. It does seem a bit crazy, I guess that’s what we have to deal with.
“I love driving in the rain here, but at some point, if that was a race, there was no way we should be driving in that because the chances of seeing a really, really horrific incident are very, very high.”
However other drivers, including Russell’s fellow GPDA director Carlos Sainz Jnr, praised the FIA’s decision to delay qualifying and start it later. “The FIA handled today well and made the right call to pause Q1,” he said, “and they did well to make the most of the gap between showers.”
Liam Lawson, who will start today’s race from third place, enjoyed tackling the extreme conditions.
“I liked it, honestly,” he told Viaplay. “I think it was risky at times, especially at the start of the session, but honestly, I don’t think there were too many incidents today.
“I think that shows that as tough as it is to drive these cars in the wet, it’s cool to go out in conditions like this, even if it’s a bit risky.”
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Pictures: Rain-hit Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying
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