Rain showers of 'biblical proportions' in Sochi, but dry weather expected

Saturday in Sochi has already been partly rained out, but race director Michael Masi remains optimistic that qualifying will go ahead. Until a few minutes ago it was still raining cats and dogs on the circuit, but just before qualifying it clears up.

The schedule for the Formula 2 and Formula 3 races has already been changed: for both classes, the second sprint race will be cancelled and the third postponed. For Formula 1, the schedule remains unchanged for the time being, and qualifying should get the green light at 14:00.

Everything will depend on the weather though. At the moment it is dry, but in the last hour there has been heavy rain, causing everything on and around the pitlane to be flooded. The infrastructure is also affected by the storm, which means that the medical helicopter cannot take off. This was an important reason for the race direction to change the schedule. Just before the start of the qualifying session the weather seems to clear up.