Organizers of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix are taking precautions as rainstorms are expected at Interlagos ahead of Saturday’s sprint.
A cyclone off the coast of Brazil is threatening thunderstorms in São Paulo state, and the National Institute of Meteorology (INMET) has issued a warning for heavy rain, strong winds and hail. A push notification from Brazil’s Civil Defense Agency was received on mobile phones in the region on Friday night, urging citizens to avoid open areas and evacuate if necessary. The warning will be in effect from 3pm local time on Friday until the end of Saturday, with the FIA being told that the risk of the first significant storm is highest between 6am and 9am on Saturday.
During preparations, certain areas of the circuit have been set aside to reduce the impact of strong winds expected to be between 40 and 60mph.
Due to the uncertainty of the actual situation affecting Interlagos, no changes to the schedule have been made. The sprint is currently scheduled to start at 11am local time, with qualifying taking place at 3pm on Saturday.
Last year, qualifying was postponed until early Sunday morning due to heavy rain and thunderstorms, and the race itself was moved up 90 minutes to avoid the worst of the weather and allow fans safe access to the circuit.
