Red Bull Motorsports
F1
What if F1 Qualifying gets cancelled?
What would the F1 grid look like if the Qualifying sessions had to be cancelled? We explain the process in full.
The F1 barometer is perpetually set to summer, ensuring perfect weather conditions for motor racing as it travels the globe from March to December. The F1 circus generally sticks close to equator, starting and finishing with Grands Prix in the Southern hemisphere and only braving northern Europe when it’s likely to be hot – or at least not wet. But just occasionally it runs into stormy weather: already this year, the F2 Feature Race at the Australian Grand Prix was dropped due to a downpour.
Close up of Max's helmet that's been prepared for wet weather
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The Japanese Grand Prix is particularly prone to bad weather with Quali abandoned in 2004 (due to a typhoon), 2010 (storms) and 2019 (another typhoon). Away from Japan, Quali for the 2013 Australian Grand Prix was abandoned after Q1 and the 2015 US Grand Prix was washed out.
The solution established by F1’s long-standing Race Director, Charlie Whiting, was to delay Quali by up to two hours and if the session cannot be held, postpone until Sunday morning - and that approach worked in every example above. But Charlie’s successors have been faced with a bigger problem: what happens if the weather doesn’t improve or gets even worse?
Take your partner: Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat dance for the fans
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Mark Webber at a wet Suzuka in 2010
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The Red Bull team start a boat race in the pits at Japan in 2019
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Sebastian Vettel looks on edge at the 2010 Japanese Grand Prix
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That was the dilemma facing F1 at the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix where adding to the misery of Covid, heavy rains brought biblical flooding to the Ardennes. By Q3, drivers were calling for the session to be paused as the weather worsened. It was red flagged but only to clear up the debris from a huge crash for Lando Norris who ran into a stream of runoff water cascading down Raidillon. It was so severe Sebastian Vettel stopped to make sure the young Brit was OK. By race day, conditions had deteriorated even further: after a three-hour delay the cars proceeded around Spa in fading light behind the safety car. After two laps they managed a single lap of (hazardous) racing before the whole thing was abandoned.
Learning from Belgium, when qualifying for the 2024 São Paulo Grand Prix was disrupted by torrential rain organisers reverted to Charlie’s plan and moved Quali to Sunday morning just ahead of the race. But again there was no improvement in the weather and while they completed Quali, it was interrupted by crashes and more bad weather. The Grand Prix went ahead a few hours later and Max Verstappen delivered an outstanding victory amid delays, restarts and crashes. F1 had produced a classic – but it was a close-run thing.
For 2025, the FIA has established a new set of rules allowing organisers a framework to follow if Qualifying needs to be abandoned or cancelled completely.
Max Verstappen on track in heavy rain at the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix
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Max Verstappen follows the Safety Car at the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix
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Pit crew wait for the weather to improve at the 2024 São Paulo Grand Prix
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Sergio Pérez has his wet weather boots on at the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix
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What happens if Qualifying is abandoned?
If, as in Belgium above, the drivers have already started Q3, race control could abandon Quali. The starting grid would then be determined by the order in which the drivers began their flying lap. If they haven’t set a time, are on an out lap or are still in the garage, then the grid would line up from the results of Q2.
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What happens if Qualifying is cancelled?
In the same rule changes, F1 announced: “Last year’s Brazilian GP highlighted the possibility that qualifying may not take place due to weather conditions. From 2025 [in such cases], the starting grid for the race will be determined based on the Drivers’ Championship standings.” And if it’s the first race of the season and there are no World Championship points to determine the starting grid, then it falls to the stewards to use their judgement to determine the starting order.
