Afternoon action at the Suzuka Circuit in Japan failed to materialise, after heavy downpours scuppered plans to host the qualifying session for Sunday's Grand Prix. An earlier Free Practice session also saw little running after only two drivers managed to set a time.

Organisers did their best to make the session happen, continually monitoring the situation via regular tours in safety car, but conditions only worsened as the day went on. Eventually, lack of light meant the inevitable postponement of the session until Sunday morning 10:00 local time (02:00 GMT +1).

Chief Technical Officer of Lotus Racing, Mike Gascoyne was one of the first to confirm the news via Twitter, adding:

Track inspection tomorrow at 9.30 local and qualifying at 10.00. Just announced by the FIA

MikeGascoyne

It's not the first time that qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix has been shifted to Sunday due to adverse weather conditions and normal running is expected tomorrow.

View Sidepodcast's edited highlights from the abandoned qualifying session.