Heavy rain at Red Bull Ring has forced the cancellation of F1 Styrian GP FP3 session as qualifying is in danger of happening if it continues.
The weather was known to play a decisive role on Saturday of Styrian GP at Red Bull Ring as multiple F1 teams took FP2 as a qualifying session already and some prepared themselves for a Sunday qualifying if it gets postponed.
On Friday, the FIA Race Director Michael Masi put out three conditions to set the grid for 2020 F1 Styrian GP in case rain doesn’t relents. “There’s lots of options to put it simply,” he started. “If a worst-case scenario was to come about, we’ve already had a look and qualifying could take place on Sunday morning.
“If we had a complete washout on Saturday, free practice three and qualifying didn’t take place and hypthetically qualifying couldn’t happen on Sunday morning because of weather, we would revert back to free practice two times.
“Or there’s the third iteration, which is free practice three can happen but we can’t have qualifying in the afternoon or qualifying Sunday morning and the grid would highly likely be set on the free practice three times.”
With FP3’s cancellation and chances of no qualifying happening later in the day, it leaves the FIA with just two options, that is to hold it on Sunday morning and if that is not possible then go by the FP2 times to set the grid for 2020 F1 Styrian GP.
Speaking further about Sunday’s plans if qualifying does not take place later in the day, Ross Brawn added: “We are so happy to be able to race here again. Even if the weather is lousy. The bad weather front is slowly moving over Spielberg.
“There is a chance that we will qualify at the end of the day. If not, there is a plan for tomorrow, where we run the qualifying session in the morning. But the Formula 2 sprint race and the Porsche Cup would be canceled [then].”
Here’s what drivers say after Friday of F1 Styrian GP
Here’s how FP1 panned out in F1 Styrian GP
Here’s how F1 Styrian GP FP2 panned out