Japanese qualifying postponed until Sunday

Qualifying for the Japanese grand prix at Suzuka will now take place on Sunday morning after various setbacks caused by torrential rain.

The FIA’s Charlie Whiting made an initial decision to delay the session by half an hour, however as the rain continued to batter the track, a second decision to delay the session for a further 30 minutes was issued.

With qualifying delayed by an hour and the weather unchanged, a third announcement was made by the FIA, delaying the session by yet a further 30 minutes.

Already over an hour and a half behind schedule, the final decision to postpone the session until Sunday morning came at 15:20 (7:20 BST), as the track remained in an ‘unsafe’ condition with the remaining light fading.