Max Verstappen has taken yet another pole with a well-timed lap around Interlagos, just before a huge storm cloud descended and caused havoc on track. Aston Martin also benefited from a nicely timed lap when it counted, while McLaren found themselves on track too late and caught up in another poor Qualifying. A red flag cut Q3 short, as torrential rain and high winds descended onto the track.
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Sao Paulo 2023 Quali: As It Happened
There was a 15 minute delay to the start of the Sao Paulo 2023 Quali at Interlagos. Track personnel were still sweeping and cleaning the track after the one Free Practice session of the weekend, which saw Fernando Alonso, Esteban Ocon and Lewis Hamilton all suffer from punctures caused by debris on track. All three drivers have lost that set of tyres, seeing them already a set down before the weekend had really begun.
Q1:
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was first out onto the track when the Sao Paulo 2023 Quali eventually got underway, followed by the queue of cars parked up in the pit lane. Lando Norris topped the timings in the first phase of the session, fending off Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen the reigning World Champion was complaining that his car felt like ‘a kangaroo’ like he reported in Mexico last week. With under ten minutes to go and the top three all in the pits, the two Ferrari teammates completed their laps, with Charles Leclerc knocking Norris off of the top spot and Carlos Sainz settling into P4. Piastri, racing here for the first time ever this weekend, edged past his McLaren teammate to sit P2, Stroll then taking P3 from Norris in his Aston Martin. Sergio Perez could only manage P5 in his Red Bull as the track continued to evolve.
As the last three minutes of Q1 ticked down, Alex Albon set the cat amongst the pigeons with a lap time less than two tenths off of Leclerc in P1, prompting a wave of cars leaving the pits for one more lap. Daniel Ricciardo failed to improve enough on his time to make it into Q2 after a solid run in Mexico. A mistake in Turn 1 left him out of shape in Turn 2, ruining his lap. Sergio Perez did improve enough to avoid a Q1 elimination, going through in P13. Out in Q1 was both AlphaTauri cars of Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo, Valtteri Bottas, Logan Saregant and Zhou Guanyu in 16th to 20th respectively.
Q2:
As Q2 got underway, it was a shootout between the Red Bulls of Verstappen and Perez, both on new tyres. Not much separated them at the end of their laps, but Verstappen prevailed, two tenths quicker than his teammate. As with most of the grid, Lando Norris left the pits on a used set of tyres and split the two Red Bulls at the end of his lap. Piastri, on new tyres, managed P4 at the end of his first Q2 run, seven hundredths off of his teammate. Both Haas cars were the last two to put times on the board, with laps quick enough for P8 and P9 for the time being.
Meanwhile, both Ferraris and George Russell remained in the elimination zone alongside Fernando Alonso and Alex Albon. Russell successfully got himself clear of the bottom five in second, before Sainz bettered his time to snatch P2 straight back, which was then stolen by Alonso. Leclerc sat P5 after his lap, and unfortunately Alex Albon had a lap time deleted, keeping him in 15th. Norris bettered his time to claim back P1, which was not beatable by Verstappen or Perez. The bottom five were unable to make it out of the elimination zone; Nico Hulkenberg, Esteban Ocon, Pierre Gasly, Kevin Magnussen and Alex Albon finished in 11th to 15th respectively.
Q3:
Spits of rain began to fall while the drivers waited in the pits for the beginning of Q3, with rainfall predicted to start seven minutes in. With drivers wary of the imminent rain, all ten were straight out onto the track. Verstappen, six tenths slower than in Q2, still grasped P1, followed by Leclerc and the two Aston Martins of Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso. Yellow flags were briefly waved for a spin by Oscar Piastri who was caught out by the worsening conditions on track. Piastri’s compromised lap held up Sergio Perez who finished P9.
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The red flag was waved as a storm clouds opened onto Interlagos, darkening the track and ending the session with four minutes to go. Verstappen will start Sunday on pole position, followed by Charles Leclerc. A well-timed lap by both Aston Martin in the Sao Paulo 2023 Quali solidified a second row start for them, and both Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell will start on a provisional third row. Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz will start in P7 and P8. Caught out by Piastri’s spin on a poorly timed lap, Perez and Piastri round out the top ten.