After the postponement of yesterday’s session to today, amid extreme track conditions and dramatic twists, here are the qualifying results in Brazil.
With a shake-up in the schedule and the session postponed to race day due to heavy rain that hit the Interlagos circuit yesterday, qualifying has just concluded in the land of the Rain Master, Ayrton Senna. Lando Norris secured pole position ahead of George Russell and Yuki Tsunoda. This was a historic qualifying session in Brazil, with Verstappen and Hamilton both missing Q3 for the first time ever. Esteban Ocon, Liam Lawson, Charles Leclerc, Alex Albon, Oscar Piastri, Fernando Alonso, and Lance Stroll completed the top 10.
The report of the qualifying in Brazil
The first 18 minutes of Q1 begin—amid aquaplaning and poor visibility, all drivers opted to fit full wet tires on their cars. There were many yellow flags at the start of the session due to Liam Lawson and Zhou Guanyu, both of whom went off in turn 12. Valtteri Bottas was the only one to venture out on intermediate tires. From the Ferrari pit wall, Charles Leclerc was advised to complete his lap as quickly as possible, but he was unable to improve and recorded the 17th fastest time.
Red flag with eight minutes remaining for Franco Colapinto, who crashed into the wall at turn 3, just as Ferrari driver number 16 managed to set the second fastest time, behind Yuki Tsunoda (1:29.172). The session resumes, and the Sauber driver, who had been the only one to take a risk with the green tires, is back on track with full wets. Both Mercedes drivers find themselves in the elimination zone with five minutes left in Q1: Lewis Hamilton manages to improve, but is still on the edge, while George Russell has a moment off track. However, the English driver number 63 improves on his next lap, finishing in a strong position.
However, bad news arrives for the adopted son of Brazil, who falls back into the elimination zone, but on the next lap manages to push Lando Norris down to 14th position. The McLaren driver, however, improves and knocks Lewis Hamilton out of Q2. Max Verstappen’s time was deleted, but the Dutchman then sets a provisional pole position with a time of 1:28.522. The eliminated drivers at this stage are: Lewis Hamilton, Oliver Bearman, Franco Colapinto, Nico Hulkenberg, and Zhou Guanyu.
Q2 begins—starting off “on fire” are the two Ferrari drivers, with Charles Leclerc followed closely by Carlos Sainz, who sets the benchmark time right away. However, the track conditions favor the two Red Bull drivers, with Max Verstappen leading in 1:27.771, followed by his teammate at +0.387. The only driver on intermediate tires is Oscar Piastri, who manages to finish in fourth position before improving and moving ahead of Max Verstappen.
Yellow flag for George Russell at turn 10, but he quickly gets back on track to continue his pursuit of pole position, positioning himself ahead of the McLaren driver. Carlos Sainz crashes into the wall, bringing out the red flag between turns 1 and 2.
Tension rises at the restart of Q2, with Lando Norris needing to find a way out of the elimination zone. He achieves this by finishing in third position, knocking Carlos Sainz out. Charles Leclerc also finds himself out, while Fernando Alonso makes a stunning move, taking the lead with a time of 1:25.035. Leclerc manages to position himself behind Oscar Piastri and the Aston Martin driver. Lando Norris redeems himself further by improving the benchmark time to 1:24.844.
A red flag is shown for Lance Stroll, which puts Max Verstappen out, leaving him to start 17th. The drivers who remain out of Q3 are: Valtteri Bottas, Max Verstappen, Sergio Perez, Carlos Sainz, and Pierre Gasly.
The moment of truth arrives with Q3—everyone is vying for pole position on intermediate tires. The first to set a benchmark time is Oscar Piastri, followed by Esteban Ocon, but Lando Norris takes the lead, putting McLaren in a provisional front row. Yuki Tsunoda doesn’t waste any time, slotting in between the two McLaren drivers, followed by Charles Leclerc and George Russell, both ahead of the RB driver.
A stunning performance from Ocon and Albon follows, with Albon managing to set the second-fastest time behind Lando Norris. A red flag is waved for Fernando Alonso, who crashes at turn 11 with six minutes left in the session. No time is recorded for the other Aston Martin.
After Yuki Tsunoda’s impressive performance and Alex Albon’s strong showing, a yellow flag is waved for Tsunoda, while a red flag is called for Albon after his car is completely destroyed, adding to the damage sustained by his teammate during Q1. As a result, Alex Albon’s participation is now in jeopardy with three and a half hours until the start of the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Q3 restarts, giving the ten drivers a single shot at securing pole position. Lando Norris continues to improve, while Esteban Ocon sets the fastest time in the middle sector, ultimately finishing in fourth position ahead of the other McLaren, driven by Oscar Piastri. There’s no improvement for Charles Leclerc, who will start from sixth place, while George Russell manages to secure second position, ahead of Yuki Tsunoda in third.
Photos: Formula 1, McLaren.