The Brazilian Grand Prix will be the sixth and final time that Formula 1 uses a sprint weekend format in 2023, and because of that it puts qualifying at risk of rain.
Qualifying is scheduled for Friday afternoon rather than the Saturday slot it occupies on regular F1 weekends, and the first day of track action at the Interlagos circuit is the one most likely to be hit by inclement weather.It will be sunny on Friday morning, with the event’s sole practice session starting at 11:30am. Forecasts indicate it will be 30 degrees then, but by the time qualifying begins three-and-a-half hours later the air temperature will have dropped to 26C and there could be strong winds too.
This is particular challenging at Interlagos due to its undulating layout, and it will be made even more difficult to drive if the 40% chance of rainfall turns into reality. The combination of rain and wind could lead to a storm descending, and even if it hits after qualifying then it could still lead to the track being wet overnight.
Last year’s Friday qualifying session at the Sao Paulo circuit was one of the most dramatic of the 2022 season, with Kevin Magnussen storming to a stunning maiden pole position for Haas after getting his first lap time in Q3 in before rain denied any of this rivals from beating his time.
Saturday’s first session is qualifying for the sprint race at 11am, and it will be cooler than the day before at 25C. Should it rain during the night, then the paddock will be hoping that once the sun rises it dries the asphalt out in the five-and-a-half hours before track action begins.
The sprint race takes place at 3:30pm, by which point the air temperature will have dropped even further to 20C.
An earlier start time for the grand prix on Sunday means it will be warmer, with it forecast to be 23C when the race begins at 2pm. But the temperature will drop over the 90 or so minutes that it will take to complete the 71-lap race, and that will help with component cooling in the car and with tyres since Interlagos sits 700 metres above sea level and the thinner air makes temperature management a key part of F1 drivers’ weekends.
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For more updates on the track conditions during each session keep an eye on RaceFans Live and the RaceFans Twitter account.
2023 Brazilian Grand Prix
- Perez’s missed “open goal” in Miami was turning point in title fight – Horner
- F1 drivers insist new rules to prevent impeding in qualifying don’t work
- McLaren surprised by margin over rivals at track Norris thought would be “tough”
- “Follow Fernando’s line” – How Red Bull tried everything to get Perez past Alonso
- Mercedes’ Brazilian GP set-up was “conservative” after US GP disqualification
wsrgo (@wsrgo)
2nd November 2023, 12:08
Hulk and Mag both have poles in wet quali sessions at Interlagos…
dot_com (@dot_com)
2nd November 2023, 17:53
That sounds weird.
Jere (@jerejj)
2nd November 2023, 12:30
Hopefully, all sessions will be entirely dry, although the sprint format isn’t the reason for rain chance in qualifying, but a mere coincidence.
On a side note to this year’s edition, I’d totally forgotten how hot the 2007 GP was.
anon
2nd November 2023, 13:07
Keith – is it now the policy of this site that stalking and harassment is considered acceptable behaviour?
This poster has done nothing but continue to harass other posters with the intention of harassing them into leaving this site. Why is this sort of abusive behaviour considered acceptable?
RandomMallard
2nd November 2023, 14:06
I’ve noticed this pattern emerging as well over recent weeks and months as well. It definitely feels like it may constitute a breach of article 4 of the Comment Policy, and at the very least is not really on topic.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
2nd November 2023, 19:22
I actually hope the opposite, we didn’t have a competitive wet session in ages now!
Nick T.
2nd November 2023, 15:55
I’d prefer rain over the entire weekend.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
2nd November 2023, 19:26
Me too, though I’ll take what I can get rain wise given f1’s recent fear of water, so if any of quali\sprint\race is wet that’s something already, the austria sprint was interesting and the dutch gp very interesting, we actually reached a point where it made sense to use full wets (similar lap times and much less risk of crashes), until obviously zhou crashed.
Nick T.
2nd November 2023, 15:59
BTW, 6pm is the peak chance of rainfall, but obviously storms can both pick up or lose speed. The rain is so isolated in the forecast, my guess is we won’t get rain for quali.
Asd
2nd November 2023, 16:55
Dear Ida, there’s no such thing as “Risk of rain at Interlagos”, there’s only “Chances for rain at Interlagos” ;)
I hope we are blessed with a rainy race weekend and no single drop of water goes to waste!