In a nail-biting and rain-drenched qualifying session, Lando Norris emerged as the fastest driver, setting a sensational final lap. He claimed pole position during the Brazilian GP Qualifying. The session was packed with drama from start to finish, with a constantly changing track and weather conditions that kept teams and drivers on edge.
Q1: Rain Threat Looms, Spins and Yellow Flags Abound
Qualifying began with a looming threat of rain within 15 minutes, prompting drivers to hit the track early in hopes of setting a solid lap before the heavens opened. Cold brakes and tires proved to be troublesome, as several drivers struggled with grip. Within the first few minutes, Liam Lawson spun in sector two, briefly bringing out the yellow flags. Zhou Guanyu followed suit with a similar spin, underlining the challenges posed by the cold conditions.
Alpine capitalised on the conditions early, setting competitive lap times, but disaster struck for Franco Colapinto when he lost control, slamming into the barriers early on in the session. A red flag halted the session as Williams face an uphill battle to repair the car in time for the race.
When the session resumed, the rain intensified, briefly halting improvements until Leclerc’s engineer confirmed the track was still competitive. However, despite the renewed efforts, several top drivers found themselves struggling in the difficult conditions.
Ultimately, Lewis Hamilton who was struggling all weekend was knocked out of the Brazilian GP qualifying. Alongside him, were the two Haas’ whom showed incredible potential in yesterday’s sprint,
Q1 exits: Zhou, Hulkenberg, Colapinto, Bearman, Hamilton
Q2: Drying Track Favors Intermediates, Shocks Continue with title fighters out.
Conditions improved marginally in Q2, and drivers opted for intermediate tires as the rain ceased. Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz were among the first to switch to inters, with Piastri immediately proving the decision’s worth by setting the third-fastest lap. The drying track began to favour intermediate tire users, and Piastri capitalised with a blistering 1:27.141, significantly faster than Verstappen’s earlier time on wets.
The slippery track, however, was still difficult to manage. George Russell managed a spin but quickly recovered, highlighting the low-grip conditions that persisted despite the improved weather. Piastri continued to find speed, posting a 1:25.179, only for the session to come to another abrupt halt when Carlos Sainz lost control and crashed into the wall, forcing a red flag. Ferrari will be needing to repair the entire rear of the car before the race in a few hours.
As the green flag waved, Lando Norris was able to set a flying lap putting himself P3, while Alonso briefly seised the top spot with a 1:25.035. However, Norris managed to go even quicker, setting a 1:24.844.
With 1 minute and 30 seconds remaining, Lance Stroll hits the barriers and the FIA took a whopping 40-seconds to call a Red Flag. Ending the session prematurely. The Red Bull drivers of Verstappen and Perez were unable to improve their times under this red flag and therefore were out of qualifying.
Verstappen was furious with this as he believed the Red Flag should’ve been brought out straight away.
Q2 Exits: Bottas, Verstappen, Checo, Sainz, Gasly
Q3: Norris Takes Pole position for the Brazilian GP Qualifying
With conditions still favouring intermediates, Q3 kicked off with drivers on inters hoping to maximise the dry spell before rain returned. The session was far from smooth, with Russell reporting a lack of grip and Piastri showing early promise on his second push lap.
The fourth red flag was brought out when Fernando Alonso found himself in the barriers. Aston Martin faced a daunting task as both of their cars sustained significant damage. At the time of the red flag, Norris held the fastest lap with a 1:24.158, with Albon and Piastri close behind.
The session was quickly resumed and the drivers began pushing to beat the pace set by Lando Norris. However, Alex Albon pushed hard and ended up in a nasty crash into turn 1. Leaving the Williams team with a very large task before the Grand Prix, with significant damage to both Williams cars.
When the green flags were back out, all drivers were on track except Russell. The mercedes driver opted for a single flying lap, aiming for a last-minute push. Norris proved too good for the rest, as he set a blistering 1.23.405. Piastri unfortunately had a lockup into turn 1 and therefore backed out of his final lap, seeing him start the Grand Prix in 8th.
George Russell solidified his position on the front row with a 1:23.578. Yuki Tsunoda was a surprise contender, putting his RB into 3rd for his best start of a grand prix ever.
Formula 1 will be back at 12:30 pm (local time)
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