Grandstands at Interlagos have been damaged after wild weather at the Sao Paulo GP venue as qualifying drew to a close.
The weather threatened for much of the three-part session but finally hit moments into Qualifying 3.
Intense wind was quickly followed by heavy rain and lightning as dark clouds plunged the venue into darkness.
The wind was such that it ripped the roof off grandstands, with one at the final corner buckling under the strain. Speedcafe understands there were a handful of minor injuries.
The Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia (National Institute of Meteorology) issued an orange ‘danger’ warning for the Sao Paulo region at 10:10 local time.
It predicted up to 100mm of rain with intense winds (60-100km/h) along with hail and noted the risk of electrical cuts, falling trees and flooding.
Photographer Andy Hone was caught in the conditions as he snapped the final minutes of cars on track in Interlagos.
“What a scary 10 minutes on track,” he wrote on social media platform X.
“A grandstand roof collapsed at the last corner and nearly got decapitated by falling debris!”
Elsewhere, the wind tore sections of the roof off the grandstand at Turn 4 as fans sheltered within.
Race control Qualifying was red flagged as it became apparent the weather was closing in, before the worst of it hit Interlagos.
It was then quickly announced that proceedings would not restart despite four minutes remaining in Qualifying 3.
That left Max Verstappen on pole with Charles Leclerc second while Oscar Piastri was caught out as the heavy winds began to hit the circuit, sending him off the road at Juncao.
Conditions are expected to ease for Saturday, with F1 due to head back out for the Sprint Shootout ahead of the F1 Sprint later in the day.
Track action in Interlagos begins at 01:00 AEDT (11:00 local) with the F1 Sprint at 05:30 AEDT (15:30 local).
What a scary 10 minutes on track! A grandstand roof collapsed at the last corner and nearly got decapitated by falling debris! #F1 #Formula1 #BrazilianGP pic.twitter.com/dWvkpgVweO
— Andy Hone (@andyhone) November 3, 2023
— FormulaArg 𝕏 | #BrazilGP🇧🇷 (@FormulaArgOK) November 3, 2023
😱Más videos del momento en que se vuela el techo de la grada.#Formula1 #F1 #BrazilGP🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/fh8ivFRf46 https://t.co/dDcVfG3oGM
— FormulaArg 𝕏 | #BrazilGP🇧🇷 (@FormulaArgOK) November 3, 2023
