Roof On Grandstands Collapses After Massive Storm Hits Interlagos Circuit

A roof on one of the grandstands in the last corner of the Interlagos Circuit collapsed during the storm that hit the circuit at the end of the 2023 Qualifying session.

The Friday F1 Qualifying session in Sao Paulo saw an earlier end when a huge storm hit the circuit. The qualification had a sort of anti-climactic end when the results were decided based on the first runs in Q3.

The teams expected a rain or storm to hit the session throughout the qualifying, but nobody knew when. In the end, we were pretty lucky to make it at least into Q3 by the time the storm hit.

The conditions throughout the qualifying were making it hard for drivers to improve on their laps. Gusty wind and decreasing track temperatures were the main causes.

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To put things into perspective, the fastest lap time in Q3 recorded by Max Verstappen on Red Bull was 1:10.727. But just a few minutes before, time of 1:10.547s was not enough for Nico Hulkenberg to make it into Q3.

Almost all the drivers complained about not putting a decent lap together in the last part of qualifying as the wind grew stronger and some raindrops started hitting the circuit.

F1 viewers watching from home could observe enormous super dark clouds approaching the circuit as they were picked up by camera shots multiple times. Watch video shared by Formula 1:

Formula 1

@F1

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Even for Interlagos, the change in weather was extraordinary 🤯 #F1 #BrazilGP

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What F1 viewers couldn't see on TV was how much worse the situation got after the Qualifying session finished. It has been reported by Formula 1 photographer Andy Hone through his X (Twitter) that the roof on one of the Grandstands collapsed.

Andy Hone

@andyhone

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What a scary 10 minutes on track! A grandstand roof collapsed at the last corner and nearly got decapitated by falling debris! #F1 #Formula1 #BrazilianGP

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Another video shared by Fastest Pitstop shows a distant view of the roof collapsing under gusts. Apparently, "104km/h was recorded at the airport as per @sdietzf1."

Fastest Pitstop

@FastestPitStop

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Here’s the video of the grandstand roof collapsing at the circuit 😱 Gusts of 104 km/h were recorded at the airport, as per @sdietzf1. We hope everyone is safe 🙏 #F1 #BrazilGP

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