It has been a difficult weekend for the organizers of the Sao Paulo GP. Qualifying was postponed on Saturday due to heavy rains, which meant extra work for the staff on Sunday morning. But as it turns out, they haven’t done a good job.
Fans flocked to the circuit in the early hours of Sunday to watch some wet-weather qualifying action. But due to a lack of sufficient number of ticket scanning machines, thousands are stuck outside the gates.
“Many are likely to miss qualifying altogether with White times of 3+ hours to enter the Interlagos circuit. It is not a happy atmosphere out there that’s for sure,” photojournalist Kym Illman wrote on Instagram.
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Qualifying began at 7:30 AM local time in Sao Paulo, an exceptionally early start. However, the officials had no choice, as today is also Grand Prix day — the main event of the weekend — requiring teams to log enough laps for adequate preparation.
Unfortunately for fans, getting into the circuit has not been a seamless experience.
The admin of the page @f1gossippofficial, known for its insider information on the F1 paddock, was among the fans waiting outside the gates. She revealed that the chaos caused by poor preparation was not a one-off occurrence for Saturday; she had experienced similar issues the previous day when she arrived for the originally scheduled qualifying session.
