McLaren’s Lando Norris took an emphatic pole position at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix on Sunday after Red Bull rival Max Verstappen qualified only 17th in a wet and crash-strewn session at Interlagos.
George Russell joined his fellow Briton on the front row for Mercedes after a session that had been postponed from Saturday due to heavy rain. Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda claimed a stunning third place on the grid and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon fourth. Australian Oscar Piastri, driving for McLaren, will start 8th.
The car of Williams driver Franco Colapinto after a crash during qualifying.Credit: AP
Qualifying at Interlagos was delayed due to numerous red flags as rain continued to fall in Sao Paulo.
The second leg of qualifying was cancelled with Verstappen in 12th position after Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll crashed.
Verstappen failed to advance to the final part of qualifying and will have to add a five-place grid punishment after changing his engine for the sixth time this season, exceeding the maximum allowance of four.
Sergio Perez, the second Red Bull driver, also failed to reach the final third of qualifying, and clocked the 13th fastest time.
Australian driver Oscar Piastri, driving for McLaren, during qualifying on Sunday.Credit: Getty Images
Qualifying started in low grip conditions at 7.30am (local time), with two red flags were shown after crashes by Stroll and Williams Franco Colapinto. Further red flags followed.
Organisers also brought the start of the man event forward by 1½ hours to try and beat the worsening weather.
All drivers started off on wet tyres, but moved to intermediates as qualifying progressed.
Qualifying on a Sunday has only happened five times in Formula 1 history.
The FIA announced qualifying had been postponed on Saturday after a two-hour delay, with no cars having the chance to clock any laps. It said in a statement that the decision was taken due to the lack of visibility caused by the level of rain, “with a lot of standing water on parts of the circuit which renders conditions unsafe.”
Many of the more than 60,000 fans who came to Interlagos on Saturday did not appear for qualifying on Sunday morning.
The gap between Norris and Verstappen, with four grands prix and a final sprint race to the end of the season, is now 44 points. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc also has a long shot at the title.
AP
