Suzuka, 2019

Qualifying delayed to Sunday due to Super Typhoon Hagibis

2019 Japanese Grand Prix

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Qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix will take place on Sunday as all track running on Saturday has been cancelled due to the threat from Super Typhoon Hagibis.

The storm is expected to bring severe winds and rain throughout tomorrow at Suzuka. As a result the track will not be open to the public or media.

“As a result of the predicted impact of Typhoon Hagibis on the 2019 FIA Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix, Mobilityland [operator of the Suzuka Circuit] and the Japanese Automobile Federation (JAF) have decided to cancel all activities scheduled to take place on Saturday, 12 October,” the sport’s governing body announced in a statement.

“The FIA and Formula 1 support this decision in the interests of safety for the spectators, competitors, and everyone at the Suzuka Circuit.”

The decision means the final hour of practice will not take place. Qualifying is scheduled for 10am local time. The race start time of 2:10pm is unchanged.

Drivers including Sebastian Vettel and Pierre Gasly had urged Formula 1 to give advanced warning if Saturday’s running was to be cancelled in order to ensure fans did not travel to the track in adverse weather conditions.

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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7 comments on “Qualifying delayed to Sunday due to Super Typhoon Hagibis”

  1. Seems pretty silly to keep scheduling the Japanese Grand Prix in typhoon season. It feels like nearly every year the weather impacts activities at Suzuka.

    1. Also, would be handy if they could not make it clash with Bathurst.

      1. Jonathan Parkin
        11th October 2019, 4:50

        Equally as silly is scheduling the British GP in April 2000 and then the FIA and FOM blaming the organisers for the Mongolian Clusterfudge that resulted

    2. @formulales It’d be all too easy just to do that and expect miracles to happen. October is decent temperature-wise and not even the rainiest month of the year. The wettest months of the year (at least in Suzuka, and capital Tokyo) are June-September, and after that, it gets drier towards the winter. Suzuka has a similar climate to that of Shanghai so that it could take place in April as well, but April’s cooler than October even if less rainy, so I’d rather keep the Japanese GP at this time of year, and move the Chinese GP back to this time of year instead. Alternatively, the Japanese GP could take place in November, but it’d then better be the first half of the month as the daytime temps cool down the further into the month we go. Furthermore, once again, pointless to try and blame F1 ‘solely’ for weekend-clashes with other events.

  2. So are C4 or Sky going to be able to show it?

    1. Looks like C4 don’t even have a contingency…. https://twitter.com/C4F1/status/1182533696966053889

      1. C4 have announced on twitter they’ve cancelling Saturday show and extending the Sunday one.
        makes sense

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