Qualifying-race double header set for Sunday as F1 scraps all track activity on Saturday due to Typhoon Hagibis
Last Updated: 11 / 10 / 19 4: 05 am
Japanese GP qualifying has been postponed until Sunday because of the expected impact of Typhoon Hagibis, Formula 1 has confirmed.
The session will now take place at 2am UK time (10 am local) on Sunday – while the race is unchanged with its start time of 6. 10 am.
There will be no track acti vity at all on Saturday, which also means Practice Three has been cancelled.
The threat of Typhoon Hagibis, which is likely to bring violent winds and sustained heavy rain, had already led to the cancellation of two Rugby World Cup matches in the country, and F1 made their own statement on Friday morning.
“As a result of the predicted impact of Typhoon Hagibis on the 2019 FIA Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix, Mobilityland and the Japanese Automobile Federation (JAF) have decided to cancel all activities scheduled to take place on Saturday, 12 October, “the statement read.
“The FIA and Formula 1 support this decision in the interests of safety for the spec tators, competitors, and everyone at the Suzuka Circuit. “
2: 10Sky F1’s Karun Chandhok is at the SkyPad to analyze all the best action from Practice 1 of the Japanese GP.
The typhoon, predicted to be one of the most violent to hit the region in recent years, is expected to pass through the area swiftly, with the forecast currently dry for Sunday.
F1 stressed that the new timetable was still subject to change and they “will continue to monitor the meteorological situation and issue any updates as necessary”.
Qualifying has had to be moved to a Sunday twice before in Japan due to typhoons, in 2004 and 2010, while the 2014 race was also hit by a typhoon and an accident led to the death of driver Jules Bianchi.
The last time qualifying was moved to a Sunday in F1 was at the United States GP in 2015.
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