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RICCIARDO WOULD WELCOME SUNDAY QUALIFYING

Daniel Ricciardo would welcome Sunday qualifying - Photos: Suttons

By Bruce Williams

Daniel Ricciardo would welcome Sunday qualifying - Photos: Suttons

Daniel Ricciardo would welcome Sunday qualifying – Photos: Suttons

Aussie Daniel Ricciardo wouldn’t mind it at all if qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix is delayed from Saturday afternoon to Sunday morning.

By DAN KNUTSON

“Let’s do it!” Ricciardo said when AUTO ACTION asked him on Thursday afternoon at Suzuka about the possible postponement. “I’d rather that than not do it at all.”

Wind and rain from Typhoon Hagibis are expected to hit the Suzuka region on Saturday.

This would not be the first time that qualifying has been postponed until Sunday. It happened at Suzuka in 2004 and 2010, and at the 2015 U.S Grand Prix. During qualifying for the 2013 Australian Grand Prix, the first of the three qualifying segments was completed on Saturday, but then rain forced the FIA to run Q2 and Q3 on Sunday morning.

Most F1 races start at 3:10 p.m. these days, and some start even later.

“This is not too bad because it is a two ‘o clock start,” Ricciardo said of the race in Japan, “but some Sundays now feel quite long and dragged out. Lots of meetings and strategy and this and that. If we’d rock up, get in the car (for qualifying), drive, get out, quickly sort out the turnaround, eat some lunch, get out there and race, I’m not too disappointed with that. So let’s see what happens.”

When should the decision be made to postpone qualifying to Sunday morning?

“Come Friday at some point they should make a decision,” Ricciardo said. “Not wait to Saturday. They will get enough of an understanding what’s going to happen. Friday is okay. If that is the case, then Sake bombs Friday night and sleep in Saturday! I don’t even like Sake…

If qualifying is on Sunday morning the regulations state that there must be at least a four-hour break before the race start.

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