Have any FI GPs been cancelled due to thunder storms?

Question

Have any FI GPs been cancelled due to thunder storms?

Answer 1

There has actually never been any cancellation of a Formula One race; however, there have been a few close calls.

The 1976 Japanese Grand Prix in Fuji

The race took place under horrible wet conditions, the title race was between James Hunt and Niki Lauda. Lauda had just returned to racing following his near fatal accident on the Nurbürgring and was still not in his best form. He retired after 2 or 3 laps and later said that racing in these conditions is almost suicide and that there are more important things in life than a championship...notably, he won the championship the following year and again in 1984.

The 1984 Monaco Grand Prix

Racing conditions were once again horrible, the track drenched in water; however, the 1984 Monaco GP is of course known for being the day on which Ayrton Senna was revealed to the world.

The race was prematurely put to an end, allowing Alain Prost to take victory, Senna came in second and eventual world champion Niki Lauda in third.

Senna's performance in that race caught the eye of the Lotus Team who signed him for 1985 and Senna would go on to win his first GP in Portugal under similar conditions.

The 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix

Extreme wet conditions. The race was ended prior to reaching full length, GianCarlo Fisichella was the winner, although at first Raikkönen won the race.

The race also saw four cars crashing in the same corner (incl. Michael Schumacher). Mark Webber also crashed heavily shortly before the start/finish line, Fernando Alonso who came at full speed in the corner, ran into Webber's debris and crashed heavily, injuring him lightly.

The 2004 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka

A monsoon had just hit near the track, causing for extremely strong winds and heavy rain. Qualifying took place on Sunday Morning, Saturday practice sessions were cancelled, but the race took place on Sunday in Sunny weather and dry track conditions.

Despite that, it was the closest Formula One ever came to canceling a race.

The 2007 Japanese Grand Prix in Fuji

Heavy rain once again, half the race was run under safety car, incl. the start. Fernando Alonso crashed and saw the title slip between his fingers.

Answer 2

No, most of the time the FIA assign GPs to countries at a time of the year when you would expect good weather. Several starts have been postponed for several hours due to heavy rain flooding the track though, most notably the 1976 decider at Fuji in Japan, which ended in semi-darkness.

Answer 3

f1 races are scheduled in the seasons of good weather... cancellation chances are minimum in f1 than other sports.. it happened once in the late 70's in japan recently once in brazil

Answer 4

Granted there have been delays due to heavy rain and possible flooding, but (unlike NASCAR and the IRL), a race has never been canceled.  This is because all the teams have to do is change the tires (spelled 'tyres' outside of the US FYI) to rain tires.  These tires look a lot like the tires that we drive down the street on but with deeper treads.  There is also an intermediate compound that is used sometimes in lighter rain.  It's more like a combination of the rain tires and slick tires that F1 runs on.

Answer 5

only 1 when nikki lauda told the FIA to cancell the race due to heavy floods on the track in silverstone but i cant re-call the year.