Pole position in rain for Norris after episodic qualifying, Verstappen 17th at Brazilian GP start

McLaren’s Lando Norris took pole position for the Brazilian GP, ​​which was made possible despite the rainy conditions, ahead of Mecedes’ George Russell, while Max Verstappen was reduced to 12th – which will change to 17th for today’s start (3/11, 17:30) Interlagos match due to the Dutchman’s engine change.

Qualifying at the Sao Paulo circuit lasted nearly two hours, being interrupted by red flags five times, with the same number of accidents involving Franco Colapinto, Carlos Sainz, Lance Stroll, Fernando Alonso and Alex Albon.

All five of these drivers are in doubt as to whether they will be able to start the race, as their cars have suffered extensive damage (especially Albon and Saint) which their teams are racing to repair.

Stroll’s accident at the end of Q2 denied Verstappen the chance to set his final fast lap in Q2, with the Dutchman leading the standings before the incident.

Instead, Yuki Tsunoda (RB), Esteban Ocon (Alpine), Liam Lawson (RB) took full advantage of the rare opportunities afforded by the rain and impressively claimed positions 3-5 on the grid, leaving behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, Albon and Oscar Piastri who finished 8th with two mistakes in the last as many laps of the Q3 expiring.

The evolution of placement tests

Interlagos qualifying started in very heavy rain and on tarmac with a lot of water, making it necessary to use the extreme rain tires (blue). Verstappen was fastest as times improved at the end and after Franco Colapinto’s accident around the mid-18 minute mark in Q1.

Norris then risked disqualification as he qualified narrowly in 15th, while Lawson’s improved time eventually dropped Hamilton out of the top 15, leaving the Englishman fuming with a car he said was “undriveable”.

In Q2 Norris again found himself in danger of being disqualified when Carlos Sainz crashed into the turn one barriers. After the red flags, however, Piastri took to the track with the intermediate rain tyres, and quickly showed that these were now the right ones.

With this tire Norris took the lead when Q2 restarted, and then improved his time further, while Verstappen was unable to complete his lap as there was another stoppage after Lance Stroll’s accident. Thus, both the Dutchman and his RBR counterpart, Sergio Perez, were eliminated in Q2 in this way.

In Q3, Lando Norris led with a time of 1:25.631 after the first runs on the intermediate tires as the cars took to the track fueled for successive laps in anticipation of the oncoming rain.

Norris improved his time to 1:24.158, ahead of Williams’ Alex Albon and Oscar Piastri in the other McLaren, before Fernando Alonso became the second Aston Martin driver to end up in the barriers, the downhill Turn 11.

The drivers returned to the track with 7 minutes remaining, but Russell, Piastri and Tsunoda all had exits. But then Albon’s heavy crash at the first corner brought out the red flags for the fifth time today as the Anglo-Thai braked on the wet white line.

When the green light came back on at the exit of the pits, the teams followed two different strategies: the McLarens were fueled for two laps, and Norris improved his pole position time in both attempts – first to 1:24.092 and then in 1:23.405.

Piastri didn’t improve in his first attempt and then had a stall at Turn 1, thus missing the opportunity to improve and allowing a series of unsuspecting drivers to pass him and drop him to 8th.

From second place, Lawson, Ocon, Tsunoda and Russell went in order, having taken to the track very late for a last attempt, warming up their tires in the garages with the special blankets.

Charles Leclerc ended up 6th as he came into turn 1 on his final lap under the yellow flag for Piastri’s exit. All this about three hours before the start of the Brazilian GP, ​​today (3/11) at 17:30.