Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent

Next update at 15:30 local time (18:30 GMT UK), the FIA says.

Ian Fergusson
BBC weather forecaster

Some signs now on the radar of rain rates starting a process of easing... slowly.

John Morgan-Jones: Grilled chicken with macaroni and cheese.

LUFC LS25: We’re having a Chinese takeaway, as requested by our soon to be apprentice flat jockey daughter, as she’s home for the weekend!

Nulla Pax: A nice Rioja and a selection of cheeses for me tonight. Bad dreams and indigestion in the early hours, no doubt.

Sensational, folks. Keep them coming. 'Bad dreams and indigestion' sounds like an album title.

McLaren have extended their championship lead in the constructors' title race thanks to their one-two in the sprint and they now hold a 35-point advantage over second-placed Ferrari.

Pierre Gasly kept himself out of trouble in the 24-lap sprint and brought home a deserved two points for himself and his Alpine team.

Image source, Getty Images

With Max Verstappen's time penalty applied, Lando Norris has taken three bites out of the Dutchman's championship tally with his win in the sprint race. The gap between the pair is now 44 points, with 112 points still available.

Charles Leclerc was overtaken by Verstappen on track in the battle for third but the Ferrari drivers gets his place back, and an extra point to boot.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

One penalty served, another one to go for Max Verstappen.

The Dutchman has been handed a five-place grid penalty at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix after Red Bull fitted a new internal combustion engine. Verstappen had already exceeded his allocation for the year, so down the order he goes for tomorrow's 71-lap race.

To minimise the damage, the three-time world champion ideally needs to secure pole position, making his starting grid position sixth.

Image source, Getty Images

Max Verstappen was under investigation by the stewards after a virtual safety car infringement during the restart of the sprint. And now the verdict is in.

The Dutchman has been handed a five-second time penalty for going too fast under the VSC, which means he is demoted to fourth place, behind Charles Leclerc, and loses a further point to Lando Norris in the championship.

A statement from the stewards said: "[Verstappen] was 0.63 seconds below the minimum time at VSC End when the FIA light panels changed to green. This indicates a sporting advantage gained under VSC."

The next update will be at 18:00 GMT. This is the current soggy scene at Interlagos.

What you all having for tea? Hashtag #BBCF1 is open for your culinary messages.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Gulp. OK, we'll go slow with building up to qualifying until the showers ease off in Sao Paulo. Might have to look to our cricket colleagues for some rain-delay chat inspiration.

And scratch that 18:00 start time. Unless the skies dry up dramatically in the next 20 minutes or so, the FIA has confirmed the start has been delayed.

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent

The rain at Interlagos is so heavy with half an hour before qualifying is due to start that the FIA has given the teams permission to close their garage doors.

Ian Fergusson
BBC weather forecaster

Rain expected to continue for more than one hour.

Image source, Getty Images

Hello again, folks. Oscar Piastri started the sprint on pole position, stayed ahead for the majority of the race but ended being the ultimate team player by letting Lando Norris pass so the Briton could take the victory instead.

The gesture means Norris has taken three steps forwards in his pursuit of title rival Max Verstappen in the drivers' championship.

The fifth sprint event of the season is in the books, so the main focus now turns to qualifying for Sunday's 71-lap Sao Paulo grand Prix.

Q1 goes green at 18:00 GMT.

Commentary is online-only for this session, so you'll need to click the 'listen live' tab at the top of this page, or you can ask BBC Sounds to play Sao Paulo Grand Prix qualifying via most smart speakers.

However, we could be in for a long delay, as it's now raining, hard...

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Lando Norris took two points out of Max Verstappen’s championship lead with victory in the sprint race at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

Norris was allowed through by team-mate Oscar Piastri two laps before the end of the race on team orders, after a tense four-way fight for the lead from the start.

But McLaren made the swap a lot more tense than it needed to be, by delaying it until Verstappen’s Red Bull had passed the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc with six laps to go.

The result cuts Verstappen’s lead to 45 points, with the grand prix still to come on Sunday. Qualifying for that is at 18:00 UK time on Saturday.

Read the full report here

Image source, Getty Images

The haul of sprint points for McLaren has moved the team 35 points clear of second-placed Ferrari in the constructors' championship.

Just for fun, how many of you would've disobeyed team orders and kept the sprint win for yourselves? Don't worry, the thumbs are anonymous, no-one will ever know.

Right then, full attention now turns to qualifying for tomorrow's Sao Paulo Grand Prix. McLaren look strong, as does Max Verstappen in the Red Bull. However, the Dutchman has that five-place grid penalty for the main race, so a high qualifying position will be vital.

We'll park up and stretch our legs now. Come back back and join us for build up from 17:30 GMT.

See you shortly!

Red Bull's Christian Horner, speaking to Sky Sports on Max Verstappen's restart: "It looks ok, but let's see.

On Verstappen's radio message: "He was just conscious that there was no gap, Oscar wasn't dropping back from Lando. I think most encouraging thing was the race pace was good, that was encouraging. There's some things we're starting to understand."

Image source, Getty Images

Max Verstappen finishes in third in the sprint, he said: “It was quite a tricky race but I think the pace was very good because we could always follow in the DRS. I’m quite pleased with that, it took a little bit too long with Charles but when everyone is in a DRS train it’s very hard to attack so I had to wait for some mistakes, luckily they came and I could use that to my advantage.

“It was promising, it was good, this is race pace, tomorrow it might rain as well so there’s a lot of unknowns but today was good.”

On the pace of the car, he added: “I still expect them [McLaren] to be really quick over the one lap but I hope we can limit the damage a bit with the five-place grid penalty I have.”

Image source, Getty Images

McLaren's Oscar Piastri who finished second from pole position: "It was a bit tricky to be honest very bumpy as we know and the racing line was incredibly narrow, you miss it by a tyre's width then you're in all sorts of trouble. It was a great day for the team, a lot of points and we can learn a lot for the race tomorrow, as well."

On whether he feels optimistic for the race: "I think optimistic. the pace looked ok but the Ferrari was quick at the start and Max quicker at the end. Let's see, we've got a few things we want to improve before qualifying but we're in decent shape."

Image source, Getty Images

Lando Norris wins the Sao Paulo sprint race in the McLaren, he said afterwards: “Not proud about it but we work well as a team together so I thank Oscar. We’ve done a great job as a team today and t was the result that we wanted, Oscar deserved it, but we are doing what we have to do. I thank him and the team and we had great pace so I’m looking forward to qualifying and the race tomorrow.”

On having the pace to overtake his team-mate Oscar Piastri, he added: “It’s tough, it was like yo-yoing a little bit, I would catch up and then drop back, and catch up. The dirty air will cost you a lot of lap time, I felt a bit quicker but I couldn’t pass at the time.

“It felt good, we were clearly quicker than the guys behind so it was just difficult in the sprint race with lots to manage and push and that kind of thing but we executed it well.”

The virtual safety car infringement for Max Verstappen at the restart of the sprint is now under investigation by the stewards.

What does the sprint result mean for the drivers' championship? Lando Norris is now 45 points behind title leader Max Verstappen, with the main event still to come tomorrow.

Max Verstappen - 368

Lando Norris - 323