Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton is 50 points ahead of title rival Sebastian Vettel with five races remaining. In this picture, Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes WO9 on track during practice for the Formula One Grand Prix of Japan at Suzuka Circuit on Oct. 5, 2018, in Suzuka. Clive Mason/Getty Images

All the Japanese Grand Prix activities on Saturday were canceled due to Typhoon Hagibis, which is expected to hit the country the very same day.

The F1 organizers at the Japan Grand Prix have said they have taken the decision "in the interests of safety for the spectators, competitors, and everyone at the Suzuka Circuit." The tropical storm, that is approaching at great speed is believed to be the year's biggest in the country.

During the race weekends, the qualifying takes place on Saturday. However, Japan's qualifying sessions, scheduled to begin at 3.00 a.m. EDT, were postponed until 2:00 a.m. Sunday. After a gap of four hours, the race will begin at 6.00 a.m.

The possible impact of the typhoon has already led to the cancellation of two matches at the Rugby World Cup.

Reigning champion and the current drivers' championship leader, Lewis Hamilton, has supported F1's decision to postpone the qualifying.

"They are doing the utmost they can. I am sure they are preparing, are aware that it is coming, and have procedures in place," Hamilton said before the qualifying announcement was made.

The first practice session, on Friday, saw the Mercedes locking the one-two spots under the influence of dry but humid conditions. It was Valtteri Bottas, who led his teammate Hamilton and the two were almost a second quicker than their arch-rivals, the Ferraris.

Bottas was hardly 0.076 seconds ahead of Hamilton and the two tried out a new aerodynamic upgrade on the car. Mercedes are hoping the upgrade to be a success in order to snatch back the advantage from Ferrari, who has won three races and claimed four pole positions since F1 returned from the summer break.

Ferrari are barely expected to catch Mercedes on this track and Hamilton had already predicted this track would suit his side more.

The practice session also saw Japanese driver, Naoki Yamamoto's first appearance in F1. He drove Pierre Gasly's Toro Rosso in the session and finished a decent 17th fastest.

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