Sao Paulo has moved from a yellow warning to an orange warning, signifying ‘danger’, for a potential thunderstorm just hours before the Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday. The warning also includes the area where the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace in Interlagos is located.
Early forecasts had predicted a rainy affair this weekend at the Brazilian GP, as has been the case on many previous occasions. But these forecasts soon turned to a yellow warning, and have now jumped to an orange-level threat of thunderstorms.
The forecast suggests that Sao Paulo could experience ‘rain between 30 and 60 mm/h or 50 and 100 mm/day, intense winds (60-100 km/h), and hail.’
The forecast in the city currently suggests a maximum temperature of 86° F on Saturday, while the lowest temperature is down at 59° F. The humidity is reported to be up at 58 percent on Saturday afternoon as well.
These conditions have now put qualifying ahead of the race under threat, as it is unlikely that the session will take place without disruption if a thunderstorm rolls over the Interlagos-based circuit this evening.
Brazilian GP Qualifying Was Postponed to Sunday in 2024
In 2024, the Brazilian GP qualifying was postponed to take place on Sunday, just hours before the main race, due to unsuitable track conditions. A severe thunderstorm covered the track during the session, which was initially red-flagged and then eventually postponed.
Extreme weather conditions created an unsafe track, which forced F1 to conduct the qualifying session on the same day as the race. Torrential rain and flooding, poor visibility amid the waning daylight, and lightning risk were all taken into account before the decision was made.
This could well serve as the precedent again this year if similarly poor conditions persist in Sao Paulo on Saturday.
In 2024, it was McLaren’s Lando Norris who managed to secure pole in the postponed session. But Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who had qualified in P12 and started P17 after an engine penalty, managed to take the win amid similarly rainy conditions in what was the defining moment of the drivers’ championship that year.
Yellow Warning Remains For Race Day at the Brazilian GP
Following qualifying, the forecast for the Brazilian GP race day also predicts a rainy day. Sunday also remains under a yellow warning for thunderstorms and has not yet changed from before the weekend started.
On Sunday, the forecast suggests a high temperature of only 63° F, while the lowest temperature is 54° F. There is also an 86 percent chance of rain on race day.
As mentioned earlier, 2024 was the last time the main race in Brazil was rain-affected. The race was red-flagged midway through that year due to flood-like conditions and large amounts of standing water on the track that caused several crashes.
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