Heavy rain hit the Albert Park circuit ahead of qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix, and the start of the first session was delayed as the track condition was inspected. After Q1 was completed, Q2 then took its turn to be delayed, with stewards eventually decided to postpone the remaining two sessions until Sunday morning ahead of the race.

Under the weather

Q1 was the only session completed on Saturday, and it was filled with incidents as drivers navigated the spray and the puddles, the slippery white lines and getting beached in the grass. Both Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa had high-profile incidents, while the session came to an end with both Esteban Gutiérrez and Charles Pic crashing in the final minute.

The second session was delayed first by ten minutes, then by two increments of twenty. Hardy fans remained at the track, huddled under umbrellas in the grandstands, but unfortunately their patience was not rewarded.

Under darkening skies, the rain did not promise to let up, and so the stewards opted to postpone the session until the following day - splitting qualifying into a two part, two-day event.

The final two sessions are scheduled to take place on Sunday at 11:00 Australia time, which is midnight GMT. The race will continue as normal at 17:00 Melbourne time, 06:00 GMT.