Lando Norris survived rain and stop/start running to take F1 pole in Brazil GP, ahead of George Russell and Yuki Tsunoda.
Q1:
The postponed F1 Brazil GP qualifying got going on Sunday morning in wet conditions still at Interlagos. There were odd yellow flag disruptions to begin with, but the drivers got 4-5 laps in their bag to get a lap time on board until the first red flag was dropped.
Williams’ Franco Colapinto lost control at Turn 3 to crash out, with Visa Cash App RB’s Yuki Tsunoda at the top under the red flag condition. As and when the green flag was waved after the car was cleared, the conditions deteriorated due to heavier rain.
The session went on smoothly as drivers were caught out by lap deletions. In the end, it was Red Bull’s Max Verstappen on top with a 1m28.522s lap from Williams’ Alexander Albon and Mercedes’ George Russell, to round out the Top 3 runners.
His teammate Lewis Hamilton was knocked out, though, with a 1m31.150s lap in 16th, as McLaren’s Lando Norris made it just in, in 15th. Haas’ Oliver Bearman ended up 17th with a 1m31.229s lap ahead of Colapinto, whose time of 1m31.720s was good enough for 18th.
Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg had a moment to cause a yellow flag which derailed his running to be only 19th with a 1m31.623s lap, as both the Haas cars got knocked out early, with Kick Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu 20th after his 1m32.263s lap.
Q2:
The wet running continued in the second part of F1 Brazil GP qualifying at Interlagos, with most opting to stay on the wet compound for their initial run. McLaren, however, played a strategic gamble to use the intermediate compound for Oscar Piastri.
That pushed most to switch onto the intermediate compound as well. There was a brief yellow for Mercedes’ George Russell, who spun but managed to continue on. However, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz couldn’t at Turn 2, to crash out and bring out another red flag.
It was Piastri on top from Russell and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll when the red flag dropped, with McLaren’s Norris outside the Top 10 in 11th. As things got going, the lap times started to tumble and Norris was on top with a 1m24.844s lap.
That was enough to make it in Q3 from Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Piastri in the Top 3. While the Spaniard was second, teammate Lance Stroll lost control to crash out at the same corner as Colapinto to bring out the third red flag.
That ended the session and also a double knock out of Red Bull cars. Kick Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas was 11th with a 1m26.472s lap ahead of Max Verstappen (1m27.771s) and Sergio Perez (1m28.158s). The Dutchman is to serve his grid penalty too.
This will more or less drop the Dutchman to 17th at least for the Sunday’s race. Sainz, meanwhile, kept his 1m29.406s lap to be 14th from Alpine’s Pierre Gasly (1m29.614s).
Q3:
The start of the final part of F1 Brazil GP qualifying was delayed due to barrier repair work after the crash of Stroll. When it got going, the times kept tumbling and with about seven minutes remaining, there was another red flag for the second Aston Martin car.
Alonso crashed out at Turn 11 after losing control and under red flag, it was Norris in the lead with a 1m24.158s lap from Williams’ Alexander Albon and Piastri in the Top 3, with Alpine’s Esteban Ocon doing well in fourth from Russell in the Top 5.
Before anyone could set a lap time when the session was re-started, there was another red flag after Albon, who had a snap going into Turn 1 to hit the barrier at a good pace to damage his rear-end of the car. He could immediately sense a failure on the car.
But the team couldn’t see anything at that moment. Replays under the yellow flag showed a spin for Visa Cash App RB’s Tsunoda and even Piastri. The final time when things got going, it saw the chequered flag without any interruption.
Norris improved twice to take F1 pole in Brazil GP with a 1m23.405s lap, as Russell improved to second with a 1m23.578s lap and Tsunoda (1m24.111s) making it in Top 3, leading Alpine’s Esteban Ocon (1m24.475s).
The Top 5 saw Visa Cash App RB’s Liam Lawson (1m24.484s) in fifth, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc (1m24.525s) improving on his last attempt but only to sixth. Despite his crash, Albon (1m24.657s) could manage to keep a time to be seventh in the order.
Piastri, meanwhile, was only eighth after failing to improve on his 1m24.686s time, with Alonso in ninth and Stroll 10th, where the Canadian did not start the session.
UPDATE: Williams has officially withdrawn Albon from F1 Brazil GP due to less time available for repairs. They are trying to start Colapinto from the grid. “It’s a heartbreaking day for the team,” said Jamews Vowles. “We’re here to go racing and nobody wants to be in this situation.
“The most important point is that all the drivers who had incidents in Qualifying are okay, including Alex and Franco. Despite the best efforts of our hard-working, talented and resilient team, there simply was not enough time to repair Alex’s car in time for the Grand Prix.
“It’s a bitter pill to swallow at the end of a tough triple-header, especially when both drivers showed tremendous pace this morning. We will focus on maximising this afternoon with Franco and putting on a show for the incredible fans here in Brazil.”
On the other hand, Sainz has been forced for a pitlane start after changes made to his car which includes new power unit elements. Here: https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/decision-document/2024%20S%C3%A3o%20Paulo%20Grand%20Prix%20-%20Infringement%20-%20Car%2055%20-%20Changes%20made%20during%20Parc%20Ferme.pdf
Here’s how F1 Brazil GP sprint panned out
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