The FIA, F1 and race promoters have decided to cancel all activities on Saturday and shift qualifying to Sunday due to Typhoon Hagibis.
After the Rugby World Cup cancelled its Saturday games due to the Typhoon Hagibis, the FIA together with F1 and Japanese Automobile Federation (JAF) have decided to cancel all its own activities for Saturday and confirmed the move to Sunday.
The FP3 is cancelled all-together with qualifying to take place on Sunday at 10:00 AM local time, with the F1 Japanese GP race at Suzuka to start at 14:10 PM – which remains unchanged. The promoters already cancelled the Japanese F4 races.
The Sunday’s Porsche Carrera Cup Japan will continue as scheduled but will start early before the F1 qualifying. This will be the first time since the 2015 US GP that qualifying will be on the same day as the grand prix – both affected due to the weather.
The statement from F1 states:
“As a result of the predicted impact of Typhoon Hagibis on the FORMULA 1 (F1) JAPANESE GRAND PRIX 2019, Mobilityland and the Japanese Automobile Federation (JAF) have decided to cancel all activities scheduled to take place on Saturday, 12 October. The FIA and Formula 1 (F1) support this decision in the interest of safety for the spectators, competitors and everyone at the Suzuka Circuit.”
The new time table for Sunday is below but comes with a note which states that this timetable is subject to change, and all stakeholders will continue to monitor the meteorological situation and issue any updates as necessary:
| 08:20 | 08:35 | FIA | Track | Track & Medical Inspection & Safety Car Test |
| 08:50 | 09:25 | Porsche Carrera Cup Japan | Track | Race (10 laps or 30 mins) |
| 09:00 | Formula 1 (F1) | F1 Car Cover Seals Removed | ||
| 10:00 | 11:00 | Formula 1 | Track | Qualifying Session |
| 11:15 | 11:35 | Formula 1 | Track | Formula 1 Pirelli Hot Laps |
| 11:15 | 12:15 | Paddock Club | Pit lane | Paddock Club Pit Lane Walk |
| 12:30 | 13:00 | Formula 1 | Track | Drivers’ Parade (cars) |
| 13:00 | 13:15 | Promoter Activity | Track | Starting Grid Presentation |
| 13:10 | 13:20 | FIA | Track | Track & Medical Inspection |
| 13:30 | 13:40 | Formula 1 | Pit lane | Pit Lane Open |
| 13:43 | 13:52 | Promoter Activity | Air Display | Honda Fly Past TBC |
| 13:54 | 13:56 | Formula 1 | Track | National Anthem |
| 14.10 | 16:10 | Formula 1 | Track | Grand Prix (53 laps or 120 min) |
Here’s Thursday note from F1
Mercedes again goes different to F1 rivals in Japanese GP tyre choice