HAAS AND KEVIN MAGNUSSEN TAKE POLE AS FERRARI FLOUNDER AGAIN
Qualifying 1 opened with all 20 drivers opting for the intermediate tires on a damp track. With drivers tiptoeing around, Pierre Gasly and the Alpha Tauri team were the first to blink, jumping to the red marked slick tires. By the second run it was clear that slicks were the way to go with the rest of the pack quickly following suit. Ferrari showed their indecision as Charles Leclerc was left jacked up in his pit box with no tires, with the team confused about what do do.
As the chequered flag dropped, times were tumbling with every lap completed but those knocked out were no particular surprise. The back row is shared by Mick Schumacher and Yuki Tsunoda, with the two Alfa’s Bottas and Zhou just ahead. Nicholas Latifi retained his streak of Q1 eliminations in P16, holding the record of 11 successive Q1 knockouts.
Q2 opened with a dry track and all drivers on slicks for their first flying laps. The Mercedes, Redbull and Ferrari drivers chose scrubbed sets for their first runs, with the rest on fresh slicks. Cars were fuelled for many laps and the times dropped into the 1.11s after the first banker laps. With reports of spotting on visors it became imperative to get a time in on fresh rubber as rain threatened to break through the clouds.
The end of Q2 did not provide any surprises, despite the pinball of times coming in as both Astons’ found themselves in the bottom 5, sandwiching a struggling Ricciardo in P14. Gasly set the pace in Q1 but found himself in the knockout zone in Q2, keeping Alex Albon company – the Williams driver ending the session just 0.044s from the safe zone. Further up the timing sheets, the top 3 were separated by just 0.7s.
When Q3 came, as did the rainclouds. A queue formed along the pit lane with each driver wanting to be the first out to get a lap in when the track is the most dry. As the cars filed out, Leclerc rolled out of the garage as the only car fitted with intermediate tyres – the team swiftly realising this was the wrong choice as he ends up several seconds off the pace in the first two sectors, boxing for softs before finishing the lap. Sergio Perez found himself suffering from the Ferrari’s mistake too as he was tucked behind Leclerc on his flying lap, unable to pass and bleeding time away.
Kevin Magnussen was the first to the line, setting the pace and occupying provisional pole with a fiery Verstappen close behind. With 8 minutes to go, George Russell had a huge lock up into turn 4, going straight on and bouncing heavily over the gravel before ending the incident spinning into the gravel. With the beached Mercedes, the red flag was flown and the rain began to pour.
When the pit lane reopened, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen were the only ones to leave the garage but confirming that the track was too wet to see any improvements. Most drivers jumped out of their cars and called a day on qualifying with a few minutes still left on the clock as Magnussen couldn’t believe what was happening.
In his 140th race and 100th for Haas, Kevin Magnussen takes his first ever pole position at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, sharing the front row with Verstappen for the Sprint. Despite his mistake, Russell takes P3 with Lando Norris not far behind. Carlos Sainz takes 5th for the Sprint as the 5 place penalty for a new ICE is applied to the race only. Ocon beats out Alonso and Hamilton with Perez ahead of Leclerc as the only two cars not to set a competitive lap time.
Can Magnussen hold onto top spot in the final Sprint Race of the 2022 season?