Scheduled to begin at 15:00 local time, the FIA initially confirmed the start of the session would be delayed.

The announcement was made 20 minutes prior to the scheduled start, confirming that there were be a delay, with more information available at 15:00 – the point at which the session had been set to begin.

It was then confirmed that there would be another delay to the start, with the next update due at 15:30 local time (05:30 AEDT).

Conditions changed sharply following the Sprint earlier in the day, which was held under sunny skies.

Rain had been a threat heading into the weekend, with forecasts predicting inclement conditions on both Saturday and Sunday.

That proved true, with the skies opening around an hour ahead of qualifying’s scheduled start time.

Sunset in Sao Paulo occurs at 18:20 local time, ultimately forcing officials hands with the decision made to run qualifying instead on Sunday morning.

“The Qualifying for the São Paulo Grand Prix is postponed,” a statement from the FIA confirmed.

“The decision was taken due to the lack of visibility caused by the level of rain we have experienced in the past few hours. There is a lot of standing water on parts of the circuit which renders conditions unsafe.

“As much as we would all like to see competition on track, the safety of drivers, team members, volunteers, officials and spectators is our main priority.

“A decision on a start time for Qualifying tomorrow morning will be taken as soon as possible.”

QUALIFYING DELAY TIMELINE

15:20: The FIA has dispatched the medical car to assess track conditions.

15:30: A statement from the FIA states “The current plan if conditions keep improving is to get Qualifying started for 16:00 (estimated start time)”

15:45: The FIA has confirmed a further delay, stating “Latest estimation is 16:15 Qualifying start (to be confirmed)”

16:00: “The Race Director has been on track for his inspection but there is still too much standing water. Latest estimation is 16:30 Qualifying start (to be confirmed)”

16:15: “The rain intensity has now increased and visibility is getting worse. We will wait another 15 minutes. Nothing will happen before 16:45 earliest.”

16:30: “Still no improvement, we will wait another 15 minutes (17:00 potential qualifying start)”

16:45: According to official timing screens, the start of qualifying has been postponed. Until when has not been specified.

16:54: The FIA confirmed the session has been postponed until Sunday morning.