Sao Paulo (AFP) – Heavy rain paused and delayed the start of Saturday's qualifiying session for the Sao Paulo Formula One Grand Prix.

Issued on: 07/11/2026 - 19:53Modified: 07/11/2026 - 20:41

Standing water on parts of the track and poor visibility created conditions that led to the session being red-flagged after only two minutes.

After half an hour the rain eased and the official safety car went out to run for two laps and test the conditions.

Many of the drivers, soaked during the only lap they completed slowly, had dried out and changed their racing suits and were back in their cars ready to go.

After 40 minutes' delay drivers began climbing out of their cars again, suggesting conditions had worsened.

The official driver of the safety car Bernd Maylander reported that Turns Two and Three and the stretch from Four to five were covered by too much standing water.

"It's pretty heavy out here," said Oscar Piastri as the cars slowly went out after an hiatus of 90 minutes with Valtteri Bottas out first for Cadillac.

© 2026 AFP

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