How the Brazil F1 grid could be formed if qualifying does not happen

The adverse weather conditions on Saturday in Sao Paulo forced F1 to postpone the qualifying session until Sunday morning, just several hours before the scheduled start of the grand prix.

However, with more rain expected to be on the way, it could create further complications and the possibility that qualifying may not happen at all.

In such an event, there is no set criteria in the sporting regulations that defines how the grid should line up.

This has already been altered for next year, with the starting grid formed by the world championship order, should qualifying be unable to take place - however the new rule came too late to be implemented into the current season.

As such, there is a lot of freedom to decide how the grid should be set - so what are the options?

One alternative that could be taken is indeed the aforementioned 2025 rule of using the championship order.

Although it is not officially in the current rulebook, the circumstance may call for affirmative action to be taken by F1.

It would see Lando Norris start on pole position and Max Verstappen demoted to sixth, as the three-time world champion carries a five-place grid penalty for the race.

However, we have already had on-track running this weekend with Friday uninterrupted by the wet weather.

The opening free practice session was held without delay or intervention, with all 20 participating drivers setting a lap time.

Article 39.4 (b) of the sporting regulations details drivers who are “unclassified”, leaving them sorted by “the order they were classified in P3 (or, in the case a Sprint Session is scheduled, P1)”.

However, that would likely be met with protest from some teams, especially those considered to be 'out of position' due to running different run plans during the session. For example, taking the order from FP1 would see Max Verstappen line up at the back of the grid.

Complications arise when considering that sprint qualifying also took place on Friday, which could lead some to argue that they are “classified”, despite the session having no link to the main grand prix under normal circumstances. 

Article 42.3 of the regulations highlights: “Classified drivers who have received 15 or less cumulative grid penalties will be allocated a temporary grid position equal to their qualifying session or sprint qualifying session classification plus the sum of their grid penalties.”

It opens up the realm of possibility for the stewards to use the sprint starting grid for the main race, which would see Oscar Piastri on pole ahead of Norris with Verstappen ninth after his penalty is applied.

Ultimately, with no concrete coverage in the regulations, the stewards can use whatever criteria they want, should qualifying fail to take place.