Brazilian Grand Prix – Qualifying: The storm smiled upon Verstappen and Aston Martin

The last qualifying session in Brazil had been the scene of a surprising result. Kevin Magnussen, for his return to Formula 1, managed to place his Haas on the front row. This performance, made possible by the arrival of rain, offered beautiful images of joy and excitement in the American team’s garage. Will São Paulo offer us another surprise this season?

Q1:

The drivers had to be patient before devouring the uneven track of Interlagos due to debris present on the track. That is why the green light was given 15 minutes after the originally scheduled time. Oscar Piastri was the first driver to set a lap time in this first part of qualifying. The Australian does not have ideal conditions for his first time in Brazil. This weekend, being under a sprint format, the rookie only had one practice session to get his bearings. The rain that came between the practice session and the qualifying session also did not help with learning the asphalt.

With 10 minutes remaining, Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc were respectively in 17th and 18th position. However, it proved crucial to go back out as quickly as possible because the arrival of rain was not a question of possibilities but of minutes. The Monegasque driver reassured himself on his second attempt by setting a time of 1’10’472, which put him at the top of the timesheet.

Despite heavy traffic, there were few incidents concerning the pit lane exit. However, Pierre Gasly had to put two wheels on the grass just a few meters from the pit lane lights to avoid the particularly slow Mercedes of George Russell. On this short 4-kilometer track, the gap between all the drivers can tend to be very tight. This was the case in Q1, where all the drivers finished within the same second.

After his perfect Mexican weekend, driving counterclockwise in Brazil did not go well for Daniel Ricciardo, who missed out on making it to Q2 by a mere 50 milliseconds. The Australian was beaten by Yuki Tsunoda by 6 milliseconds. The two drivers from the Italian team were joined by their rival in the standings: Alfa Romeo. Neither Valtteri Bottas nor Guanyu Zhou managed to get out of the red zone.

Eliminated in Q1: Yuki Tsunoda (16th), Daniel Ricciardo (17th), Valtteri Bottas (18th), Logan Sargeant (19th), and Zhou Guanyu (20th).

Q2:

Appearing very comfortable during FP1, the Ferraris certainly worried the Tifosi at the end of their first stint in Q2. The two red cars couldn’t do better than 8th and 9th. A completely strange situation considering how the SF-23 dominated the leaderboard in the only free practice session where they were on top. False alarm for the fans of the red cars. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz went out with used tires. Their second run with fresh tires gave them a boost in performance.

The only team that made improvements this weekend, these new elements didn’t allow the Haas drivers to be among the top ten. Frustrated for missing his braking point at turn 8 during his last attempt, Kevin Magnussen immediately blamed Charles Leclerc for a visual obstruction that condemned him to a 14th place elimination. Despite setting some records in sector 1, Nico Hülkenberg, poleman of the Brazilian Grand Prix in 2010, was also eliminated in Q2.

The other drivers who were fast in the first sector were the Alpines. Their abnormally high top speed was not enough for Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly to participate in the final part of these tightly contested qualifications. The two Frenchmen could still drop down the grid on Sunday due to their involvement in incidents at the pit exit during Q1.

Unlike Haas, those who could be proud of their Q2 were all the members of the Aston Martin team. For the first time since the Austrian Grand Prix, both green cars made it to Q3. A welcome achievement given the current crisis period in which the English team is currently stuck.

The eliminated in Q2: Nico Hülkenberg (11th), Esteban Ocon (12th), Pierre Gasly (13th), Kevin Magnussen (14th), and Alexander Albon (15th).

Q3:

Unwilling to wait behind everyone, Max Verstappen quickly overtook George Russell’s Mercedes at the pit exit. Despite some oversteer moments, the Dutchman managed to set a time of 1’10’727. This lap placed him at the top of the time sheet, distancing the competition by over three tenths of a second.

The menacing black sky above their heads scared Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz, who went off track. With the storm hitting Sao Paulo, the arrival of a very strong wind and rain, the first attempts of each driver were the only ones they could make. Max Verstappen can therefore calmly enjoy his 31st career pole position without having to endure the attacks of Norris or Leclerc, who were deprived of the right to respond.

In view of the weather, the red flag regime was triggered, followed by the announcement that the session would not resume. This inability to get back on the track cost Sergio Perez dearly, as he was disrupted by the yellow flag caused by Oscar Piastri’s off-track excursion. This stroke of bad luck comes at the worst moment for the Mexican, who is under scrutiny at Red Bull.

The weather was much more forgiving for the two Aston Martin drivers who managed to qualify in 3rd and 4th position, to Lance Stroll’s advantage. These favorable positions on the grid could turn out to be the team based in Silverstone’s last breath of fresh air this season.