General
F1 qualifying on Sunday: these are the Grands Prix where it has happened before
Qualifying on Sunday in Formula 1; it's something that hasn't happened very often in the sport. There has been a few Grands Prix where this has been the case in the past and it last occurred just last season.
The first two free practice sessions have been cancelled at the Nurburgring, which means that three hours of track time has been lost on a circuit where no Grand Prix has been held since 2013. Many teams know very little about the track and that can lead to a nice unknown, or maybe even dangerous situations. If this is the feeling the FIA could give the teams more time to prepare, and delay the competitive session.
What will the FIA do?
Has there ever been a qualification for a Formula 1 race on a Sunday? Yes, several times the starting position has been decided on a Sunday morning. However, the big difference with the current situation is that Saturday is expected to remain dry and the fog is starting to clear.
In bad weather conditions, the medical helicopter is not allowed to take off and if an ambulance cannot get to a hospital within twenty minutes, the sessions have to be cancelled.
A list of recent F1 qualifications that did not take place on a Saturday:
- Japanese Grand Prix 2004 (typhoon Ma-on)
- Japanese Grand Prix 2010 (severe storm)
- Australian Grand Prix2013 (too much rain)
- United States Grand Prix 2015 (too much rain)
- Japanese Grand Prix 2019 (typhoon Hagibis)