What happens if Brazilian Grand Prix F1 qualifying does not take place?

Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying faced lengthy delays on Saturday evening, with the all-important session now expected to take place on Sunday morning.

While the weather was clear for the sprint race earlier on Saturday, a thrilling short race that saw Lando Norris take the victory and Max Verstappen demoted to fourth following a five-second penalty, thundery showers hit the track later in the day, putting qualifying in doubt.

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FIA updates came and went as everybody in the paddock waited to see if the session to set the grid for the race, in which Verstappen will be docked five grid places for changing his internal combustion engine (ICE), would get underway at all.

As it stands, the all-important qualifying is now scheduled to take place on Sunday at 7:30am local time (10:30am GMT), meaning a busy day of running for the drivers and fans, with the race also set to take place later on Sunday at 12:30pm local time (3:30pm GMT).

But what happens if the rain (as forecasted) is just as bad on Sunday morning? How will Formula 1 set the grid for the race?

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How will the grid be set for the Brazilian GP?

There are no official FIA rules for how to set the grid if qualifying is unable to take place, something that is set to change in 2025.

In 2025, the drivers' championship standings will determine the grid, but at this year's Brazilian GP, that is just one of a number of options available to the FIA.

With a dramatic championship battle between Norris and Verstappen currently in progress, the FIA will be thinking about the fairest way to allow the race to go ahead.

Sprint race grid

One option available would be the final sprint race results, with that being the most recent result that all 20 drivers have had.

Norris, of course, won that particular race in a McLaren one-two with team-mate Oscar Piastri. That would then leave Charles Leclerc starting third, with championship leader Verstappen down in fourth.

However, it would leave Nico Hulkenberg in an unfortunate position, with the German running up in ninth in the sprint race before an engine problem saw him needing to retire from the race.

FP1 results

Another session of dry running that the drivers had was during the one and only practice session of the weekend.

FP1 saw a British one-two-three, with Norris leading Mercedes star George Russell and teen sensation Ollie Bearman.

However, Verstappen and Red Bull would likely take issue with this cause of action, with the Dutchman focusing a lot on his race planning in that session, meaning he only put a time in fast enough for 15th.

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, would be starting down in 16th, while Williams' Alex Albon would be up in fifth.

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Drivers' championship standings

If the FIA were to implement the 2025 rules a few months early, it would mean that Verstappen would start on pole ahead of Norris, a tantalising prospect between the two drivers.

However, Red Bull have arguably not been strong enough to be in contention for pole position had qualifying got underway as normal, meaning the pole position may be a little skewed and might lead to one or two questions from McLaren.

It would of course mean that Leclerc, Piastri and Carlos Sainz would round out the top five, but headaches would come for drivers who have only raced a few races this season, including Franco Colapinto, Liam Lawson and Bearman.

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