New FIA rule could be enforced for first time at Brazilian GP

The forecast for the upcoming Brazilian Grand Prix weekend might just have F1 fans fearing for a repeat of the 2024 event.

This weekend sees a bumper schedule at Interlagos, with it being a sprint weekend, which means competitive action gets underway on Friday, and there are two races to complete.

Saturday in particular will be a busy one, with the sprint race on Saturday morning local time, before a full grand prix qualifying session in the afternoon.

And Saturday's weather in Interlagos is not looking good, with heavy rain forecast for the morning, before sunshine and showers in the afternoon.

We know from past experience, however, that 'showers' in Interlagos can be highly disruptive, and often include thundery conditions that are also forecast to be present during this weekend.

Qualifying for the 2023 Brazilian GP saw almost night time conditions, with the jet black overhead skies making for an eerie finish to the session, while last year's qualifying was even delayed because of heavy rain.

It meant that qualifying and the main grand prix took place on Sunday last year, again in wet conditions in what was a chaotic weekend.

However, that would not be the case in 2025, with new regulations being brought in for 2025 that explains exactly how that situation would be dealt with going forward.

What would happen if qualifying is cancelled?

Following last year's Brazilian GP chaos, the FIA actually wrote into the sporting regulations for 2025 what would happen if a qualifying session is unable to go ahead due to adverse weather conditions or any other reason.

It has officially been written into the rules that, if it's determined that qualifying can not go ahead, then the order for Sunday's race will be decided by the drivers' championship standings at that particular point in time. This will also be the case for a sprint qualifying session.

As it stands, that would of course be a huge boost to Lando Norris' championship chances, with the Brit leading the championship from his McLaren team-mate by a single point heading into this weekend.

Oscar Piastri would line up in second, with the other championship protagonist in Max Verstappen starting third.

Verstappen's Red Bull team-mate Yuki Tsunoda, however, would be all the way down in 17th, after what has been a disappointing season for the Japanese racer.

READ MORE: Hamilton branded Ferrari failure in team relationship criticism

Related