F1 star fears Brazil race could be cancelled

Sauber F1 driver Nico Hulkenberg has hinted at a fear that the Brazilian Grand Prix sprint race may not be able to go ahead.

Following sprint qualifying on Friday, the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace was all set for its first of two races this weekend to take place on Saturday morning local time, with the shorter sprint race taking centre stage before grand prix qualifying.

Lando Norris was scheduled to start on pole with championship rival and team-mate Oscar Piastri down in third, while a few drivers put in some stunning performances to qualify in the top 10, with Fernando Alonso starting fifth, Lance Stroll in seventh, and Sauber's Hulkenberg making it into SQ3 and qualifying 10th.

However, the German veteran was not allowing himself to get too excited for the sprint race after sprint qualifying, suggesting that it may not even be able to go ahead.

The weather forecast in Interlagos looks dreadful for Saturday, with heavy rain showers expected for the sprint race - there's currently a 50 per cent chance of these hitting in the morning - and then thunderstorms expected later in the day in time for qualifying.

F1 fans will be scarred by the Saturday at the 2024 Brazilian GP, when the sprint race was able to get going, but qualifying was pushed back until the Sunday amid heavy rain.

New FIA rules for this year means that if neither the sprint nor qualifying are able to get underway as planned, they would be cancelled rather than rescheduled, with championship order being used to determine the grid for the main grand prix in this scenario.

"I hope it is run-able tomorrow," Hulkenberg told Sky Sports F1 after sprint qualifying, before then going on to talk about the pace of his competitors: "The Astons look pretty quick - out of nowhere!"

Sao Paulo Saturday weather forecast

The chance of rain is expected to hover around 50 per cent on Saturday morning, but this is expected to decrease throughout the sprint race distance, with sunny spells also possible. Wind speeds are expected to be sat at around 18mph, and will be hitting the track south easterly across the start straight.

Temperatures sit at a cool 23 degrees Celsius, although the real feel will be higher at 28 degrees as humidity reaches 82 per cent. The air temperature will only be amplified in the cockpit and with a wet track, tricky conditions are to be expected.

The weather is set to get even worse for qualifying at 3pm local time, with temperatures hitting a high of 27 degrees and thunderstorms forecast. This is thought to continue for the next two hours at least - although bizarrely bright spells are forecasted in patches too. So expect everything but snow.

READ MORE: Sky Sports F1 star's absence forces late broadcasting change

Related