Sao Paulo qualifying delayed as heavy rain hits Interlagos

SAO PAULO, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Qualifying for Formula One's Sao Paulo Grand Prix was delayed on Saturday after heavy rain swept across Interlagos, the latest weather disruption at a circuit renowned for dramatic wet races and qualifying sessions.

Rain began falling shortly after the end of ⁠the third and final practice session and intensified in the minutes before qualifying was due to start at 3 p.m. local time. Drivers initially left the pitlane as scheduled, but a red flag was brought out two minutes later as conditions deteriorated.

As ⁠soon as he joined the track, newly crowned world champion Kimi Antonelli told his Mercedes team over the radio that he was "already ⁠aquaplaning". Safety car driver Bernd Maylander carried out assessments of the circuit.

"It's very simple to ⁠say it's not drivable, it's too dangerous," Maylander told Sky TV. "A lot of ⁠standing water, even on the straights, that creates high-speed aquaplaning."

Reporting by Gabriel Araujo and Alan Baldwin, editing by Ed Osmond