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F1 Brazilian GP: Norris claims pole in chaotic wet qualifying, Verstappen 17th

McLaren’s Lando Norris topped qualifying at Formula 1’s Brazilian Grand Prix while Red Bull driver Max Verstappen was eliminated in Q2 after the controversial timing of one of the wet session’s many red flags.

George Russell will start second for this afternoon’s brought-forward race for Mercedes, with Yuki Tsunoda third for RB as Verstappen’s engine-change grid penalty means he will start 17th – behind Lewis Hamilton, who was eliminated in Q1.

In Q3, Norris led with a 1m25.631s after the first runs on the intermediate tyres, with the cars fuelled to run long as the teams expected the fluctuating rain to intensify again.

He improved this to a 1m24.158s to head Williams' Alex Albon and Oscar Piastri in the other McLaren, before Fernando Alonso became the second Aston Martin driver of the session to crash out – the Spaniard losing his car through the plunging Turn 11 left at the end of the middle sector.

The drivers lined up to try again with seven minutes left on the clock and their first efforts back on track did not yield improvements as they built tyre temperature – Russell, Piastri and Tsunoda all having moments, the latter two spinning.

But before any purple sectors could be registered, Albon crashed hard at Turn 1 – appearing to brake on the wet white line while also wondering if he had a brake problem. A spin into the barriers wrecked the rear of his Williams and causing a fifth red flag.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing (Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool)

Afterwards, the teams took two different approaches, with the McLarens fuelled to do two laps and improving the pole time with both – first to a 1m24.092s and then finally to a 1m23.405s.

Piastri did not improve on his first go and then locked up at Turn 1 and went off on his final lap, which meant the drivers that were kept in the garage for extra time with their inters in the tyre blankets and time for just one run, were able to gain.

First Liam Lawson got up to second before he was shuffled down to fifth by Tsunoda and Norris, while Esteban Ocon – a two-lap runner for the final efforts – snuck into fourth for Alpine.

Charles Leclerc ended up sixth as the lead Ferrari having got to Turn 1 with a yellow flag activated for Piastri’s off on his final lap, with Albon nudged down to seventh but still ahead of Piastri.

The crashed Astons of Alonso and Lance Stroll ended up with the ninth and 10th slots – the latter not taking part in Q3 due to his early incident in Q2.

That was a momentous mini-session for the title contenders, as Norris sat 11th and on the verge of a shock exit when Carlos Sainz crashing at Turn 1 imperilled his progress – Norris having also struggled on the full wets used in Q1, before Piastri led the switch to inters in the middle segment.

But Norris was able to gain on his first lap out of the pits on the inters when Q2 resumed and then go even quicker, while Verstappen did not improve and along with his team-mate, Sergio Perez, was shuffled down into the drop zone.

Both Red Bull drivers were then caught on the wrong side of a second red flag called with less than a minute less – caused by Stroll crashing at Turn 3.

In one of the many subsequent delays, Verstappen fumed to reporters about the timing of the Stroll stoppage. But even if a red flag had been called within five-seconds of the incident occurring he still would have been out in 11th thanks to a Leclerc improvement seconds after the crash and without enough time to complete a final lap due to Red Bull’s pit box position at the start of pitlane.

The Stroll red flag also eliminated Valtteri Bottas in 11th – the Finn’s best qualifying result since he was 10th in China – the already out Sainz and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly.

Verstappen led Q1, where Franco Colapinto crashed halfway through, which meant a tricky end to the session for the rest as the rain increased and the times only really began to improve right at the end.

Norris squeaked through in 15th, while Lawson’s late improvement knocked out Hamilton, who was furious with “this damn car”.

Oliver Bearman and Nico Hulkenberg also failed to progress in a session when Bottas had made an unsuccessful switch to inters before the red flag. Bottas' team-mate Zhou Guanyu had the chance to knock out Norris but the Sauber driver’s final lap was only good enough for last.

Photos from Brazilian GP Qualifying

Race winner Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38
Frederic Vasseur, Team Principal and General Manager, Scuderia Ferrari
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20
Pierre Gasly, Alpine A524
Liam Lawson, RB F1 Team VCARB 01, Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20
George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15
Christian Horner, Team Principal Red Bull Racing
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR24
Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB20
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team
Hannah Schmitz, Red Bull Racing Principal Strategy Engineer
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Lance Stroll, Aston Martin AMR24, crashes out
Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL38
Pole man Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team, celebrates after Qualifying
Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team
Fans of Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team, in a grandstand
Pole man Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team, celebrates in Parc Ferme
Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team
Lewis Hamilton drives Ayrton Senna's McLaren MP4/5B
Lewis Hamilton in the cockpit of the McLaren MP4/5B, with Viviane Senna, sister of Ayrton Senna, holding her brothers helmet
Lewis Hamilton drives Ayrton Senna's McLaren MP4/5B
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team
Christian Horner, Team Principal, Red Bull Racing, on the grid
Oliver Bearman, Haas VF-24, arrives on the grid
Rubens Barrichello on the grid
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Christian Horner, Team Principal Red Bull Racing, Stefano Domenicali, CEO of the Formula One Group
George Russell, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team, in the cockpit
Marshals lift Lance Stroll, Aston Martin AMR24, out of the gravel as Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR24, passes
George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15, Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, Esteban Ocon, Alpine A524, Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team VCARB 01, Liam Lawson, RB F1 Team VCARB 01, the rest of the field at the start
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W15, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, Franco Colapinto, Williams FW46, the remainder of the field on the opening lap
Oliver Bearman, Haas VF-24, battles with Valtteri Bottas, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber C44
Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB20, sprays mud as he tries to rejoin after a spin
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W15
Zhou Guanyu, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber C44, battles with Oliver Bearman, Haas VF-24
George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15, Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38
Liam Lawson, RB F1 Team VCARB 01
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24
Liam Lawson, RB F1 Team VCARB 01
Oliver Bearman, Haas VF-24, spins in front of Nico Hulkenberg, Haas VF-24
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20
Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team VCARB 01
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24, makes a pit stop
Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38
Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team VCARB 01
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24, battles with Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20
Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, makes a pit stop
Marshals push Nico Hulkenberg, Haas VF-24, back on track
Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB20
Pierre Gasly, Alpine A524
Pierre Gasly, Alpine A524
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24
Pierre Gasly, Alpine
Race winner Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Christian Horner, Team Principal, Red Bull Racing, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Pierre Gasly, Alpine
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 1st position, celebrates on the podium
Esteban Ocon, Alpine F1 Team, 2nd position, Pierre Gasly, Alpine F1 Team, 3rd position, lift the trophy in celebration
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20
Pierre Gasly, Alpine F1 Team, 3rd position, Esteban Ocon, Alpine F1 Team, 2nd position, on the podium
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 1st position, celebrates on the podium
Pierre Wache, Technical Director Red Bull Racing celebrates on the podium
Pierre Gasly, Alpine
Esteban Ocon, Alpine F1 Team, 2nd position, celebrates with his trophy on the podium
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Pierre Wache, Technical Director Red Bull Racing, Esteban Ocon, Alpine
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 1st position, Esteban Ocon, Alpine F1 Team, 2nd position, Pierre Gasly, Alpine F1 Team, 3rd position, on the podium
Esteban Ocon, Alpine
Esteban Ocon, Alpine, Pierre Gasly, Alpine
Fans of Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Fan of Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing with a tattoo
Esteban Ocon, Alpine, Pierre Gasly, Alpine
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing celebrates with team members
Esteban Ocon, Alpine, Pierre Gasly, Alpine
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
84
   
1
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2
   
Cla Driver # Chassis Engine Laps Time Interval km/h
1 United Kingdom L. Norris McLaren 4 McLaren Mercedes 33

1'23.405

  185.988
2 United Kingdom G. Russell Mercedes 63 Mercedes Mercedes 29

+0.173

1'23.578

0.173 185.603
3 Japan Y. Tsunoda RB 22 RB Red Bull 30

+0.706

1'24.111

0.533 184.427
4 France E. Ocon Alpine 31 Alpine Renault 31

+1.070

1'24.475

0.364 183.633
5 New Zealand L. Lawson RB 30 RB Red Bull 30

+1.079

1'24.484

0.009 183.613
6 Monaco C. Leclerc Ferrari 16 Ferrari Ferrari 29

+1.120

1'24.525

0.041 183.524
7 Thailand A. Albon Williams 23 Williams Mercedes 28

+1.252

1'24.657

0.132 183.238
8 Australia O. Piastri McLaren 81 McLaren Mercedes 28

+1.281

1'24.686

0.029 183.175
9 Spain F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing 14 Aston Martin Mercedes 21

+5.593

1'28.998

4.312 174.300
10 Canada L. Stroll Aston Martin Racing 18 Aston Martin Mercedes 19

 

   
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