Growing chance of rain on race day

2011 Brazilian Grand Prix weather

Posted on

| Written by

A very wet qualifying session at Interlagos in 2009

This weekend’s race was originally expected to be dry. But revised forecasts indicate a chance of rain.

Heavy storms are a regular feature in the area. They are often unpredictable, but the early indication is rain could affect the final race of the season.

Wet weather has been a feature of several recent events here, including the dramatic 2008 title-decider and the rain-hit qualifying session in 2009.

The Brazilian Grand Prix is being held three weeks later than last year, but the weather is expected to follow its usual pattern.

Temperatures will be in the mid-20s in the days prior to the race, but a slight fall in temperature is expected on Sunday.

The forecast is likely to change in the run-up to Sunday so make sure to join us on F1 Fanatic live during every session for updates.

If you’re in the area and can supply any further information on the weather, please do so in the comments.

Location of Interlagos


View F1 race locations 2011 in a larger map

2011 Brazilian Grand Prix

    Browse all 2011 Brazilian Grand Prix articles

    Image © Red Bull/GEPA

    Author information

    Keith Collantine
    Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

    Got a potential story, tip or enquiry? Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here.

    34 comments on “Growing chance of rain on race day”

    1. YAY! Great news!

      1. …for fans of the safety car, yes! :P

    2. awesome, I can’t remember the last time I saw a good wet race.. oh yeah Canada :D

      1. And it was awesome!!. Although Charlie W´s attitude when the track is wet it’s sometimes too conservative (or even obsessed with security).

        1. @Alain When it’s wet and safety car is in, the visibility is incredibly low still. Imagine someone spining at the end of a straight, and someone not being able to see that happen beforehand. Racing at 300 kph with so much spray is incredibly dangerous and I fully support Charlie Whiting being conservative. It’s the right thing to do.

          The deaths of Dan Wheldon and Marco Simoncelli reminded us of the dangers of motorpost and F1 shouldn’t take even bigger risks just because people can’t stand the long safety car periods.

          1. motorsport, rather.

          2. I agree. A little rain makes the race exciting, a lot of rain makes it dangerous and safety should be considered above all.

          3. I also agree, however if the track is too wet to race on, I believe throwing the red flag out is a better idea. As great a race as Canada was, about half the laps were run under the SC!

            I understand that Charlie Whitting and the FIA want to keep the races going. They obviously want to distribute full points at the end of each event, and television stations have there schedules. There is also lighting issues at races that take place in late afternoon (something else i disagree with, start all races at 2pm local time!). But that’s another issue…

            Real race fans want to see real racing, so why create a procession?

            1. What you say its true, but sometimes is too much. A good example of this is Canada, after the red flag the safety car made too many laps, we all saw that the track was in good conditions(wet but not too much) but Whiting decided to let the SC stay in the track, it was embarrasing.

              We have seen some great races with race, remember Barcelona 96 or Monaco 97. Security is very important but you have to measure what you decide, this is racing, and racing will be always dangerous. When it rains heavily(Malaysia) its good to stop the race but then, please, let the cars race!!!.

    3. I have seen several pages and according to most of them the probability of rain is around 45-65%. It should be light rain but you don’t know what to expect when the race is in Brazil. :)

      1. Sounds like a best-case scenario for the fans – at least the ones at home, it might not be so nice in an uncovered grandstand – unpredictable weather.

      2. Usually in tropical countrys when it rains it poures, Brazil thankfully has given some of the most spetacular races in the past 10 years. The weather almost becomes the most predictable factor in São Paulo, the race… is a Thriller.

        1. Now I have seen a 90% hehehe, this is going to be epic!! :)

    4. Hoping for a thriller! :)

      1. @David-A I do that every Grand Prix weekend. :P

    5. Yeah, F1 is ready for some rain, bring it on! Hope we get a different winner, Felipe victory would be nice.

    6. Based on what I have read last couple of days about the recent deaths at Interlagos I´m a little scare of rain.

      Wouldn´t like any of the drivers getting hurt…After all in a month and a half we have had 3 deaths in motosport…

      1. I admit you would like to say “3 deaths in TV covered motor sports”.

    7. this really could throw a cat amongst the predictions championship pigeons.

    8. PLEASE PLEASE, no safety car start, they have wet tyres for a reason.

      1. The decision to use the safety car for starts in wet conditions is usually not a question of traction, it’s more often a question of visibility.

        1. Even so Keith, SC Starts have been all too common in wet races during recent times.

        2. Ever since Japan 2007, I’ve believed that visibility should be less of factor in deciding whether to bring out the safety car. If aquaplaning is a problem, then I can understand, but the drivers have shown before that even without much visibility, they can push to the limit.

        3. Like they say in driving school, going fast is a choice… I mean, drivers still can slow their cars down to a point they feel safe driving with low visibility, but that’s a tough call, isn’t it?

          1. Aquaplaning has always existed, extreme rain tyres has the right to be used too!!

    9. Its the drivers decision to start under a safety car as long as the visibility is poor.

      1. No, its Charlie Whittings, but the teams and drivers do tend to voice their opinions on the matter. It it suits the team/driver they ask for a SC Start, and the other way around.

    10. Let it pour….maybe someone from the bottom of the barrel will have a chance after the regulars slide off. Will HRT get a point finally ??

    11. Great news.

      Last year we had a wet Saturday but it was sunny and hot on Sunday. Bring the rain!

      1. Last year was perfect conditions for a qualifying lottery! Drying throughout, with a Nico Hulkenberg making the top dogs look like amateurs :D

    12. I remember last year’s rain-hit qualifying session. A well-timed lap by the Hulk gave him pole. I doubt in the race, as it’s longer, the results will be so dramatically upset, but I welcome the rain.

    13. The best way to end the season.

    14. I’d never wish for rain but it would be a great season end!

    15. Alexandre Costa
      26th November 2011, 9:53

      Hi, Keith! Just a information: you’re using the Paraná State radar and not São Paulo’s one… I would suggest you this one: http://www.climatempo.com.br/satelite.php

      Then, at the first drop-down list, select “Centro-Sul do Brasil”, “São Paulo” or “Grande São Paulo” for increasing details. At the second drop-down list, select the image type (coloured, infrared, etc).

      PS: the last forecasts suggests a chance of rain at some points of the city this Saturday (not necessarily at Interlagos) and it must rain at Interlagos during the race on Sunday.

    Comments are closed.