Written by Maria Fashchevskaya
Lando Norris slid to pole position in front of George Russell and, surprisingly, Yuki Tsunoda in a total rainy action qualifier around the track in Brazil. VCarb-teammate Liam Lawson qualified in P5, as both Red Bull cars did not enter Q3.
Lando Norris slid to pole position with a magnificent time of 1:23.405s on a wet track. He would start in front of George Russell in the Mercedes and, surprisingly, Yuki Tsunoda in the VCarb in possible rainy action around the track in Interlagos.
As Liam Lawson in the second VCarb qualified in P5, they usurped Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari. The Monegasque failed to improve his time in Q3 and qualified only in P6. Teammate Carlos Sainz had had crashed out in Q2 before.
Another surprise came with Esteban Ocon, who qualified in P4. Alex Albon crashed out in the last minutes of Q3, but held onto his position in the top ten. Given the team woud repair his car on time, he would start from P7, in front of Oscar Piastri in P8.
The last two places in the top ten were occupied by both Aston Martin drivers, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, who spun out of the sessions in Q3 and Q2, respectively. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen failed to entry Q3, and a late red flag in the second session disrupting his flying lap. With his five-place grid penalty in hand, the Dutchman would start from 17th place in the race.
On Saturday, Lando Norris won the sprint in Brazil, closing the gap in the drivers' championship battle with Max Verstappen by three more points. His teammate Oscar Piastri came in second in front of the Dutchman. It is yet to be seen if the McLaren boys can keep up the good pace around the track in Interlagos, as they qualify for the race.
It had rained in the afternoon on Saturday, as the water was pooling around the track just minutes before the start of qualifying. Likewise, it is likely that the race on Sunday will feature some rain, too.
Meanwhile, the FIA had granted the teams to shut their garage doors, keeping the downpour outside. After hours of waiting, qualifying was postponed to Sunday morning and to be held at 7:30 a.m. track time.
Read here, how qualifying on Sunday unfolded:
Q1
As qualifying was about to unfold on Sunday, light rain was still pouring and drivers were lining up in the pit lane. Pierre Gasly was given the message that about 15 minutes into qualifying, the rain could increase. It could mean that the drivers would have only one session to properly qualify for the race later in the day.
The first driver to hit the track was Alex Albon, leaving a cloud of water behind him. Most of the drivers went out on wet tyres, except Valtteri Bottas on intermediate tyres. Two minutes into Q1, yellow flags were shown for the second and third sector for a brief moment, but it was given the all clear after some time.
Replays showed that Liam Lawson went missed the corner in the sectors and went through the curb at turn 12, not hitting the barriers. A couple of minutes later, Guanyu Zhou spun at the same corner.
As Lando Norris was completing his first flying lap but had been sliding throughout the lap. "Yeah, a bit of aquaplaning down in turn four, otherwise not too bad, just low grip", he said over team radio, while asked about the conditions out on track.
Meanwhile, Esteban Ocon had shown the best time around the track yet, with a 1:30.096s, that he even improved by two tenths of a second. With ten minutes to go, in the elimination zone were George Russell, Charles Leclerc, Oliver Bearman, Lewis Hamilton, and Valtteri Bottas.
Just then, the red flag was waved, as Franco Colapinto went into the barriers in sector one. The hero of fans this weekend spun in turn three after hitting water in the corner before. The Argentinian was sitting in ninth place in qualifying, for now. Rain intensified during the red flag, but should reduce, as the session resumed, Lando Norris was told by his team McLaren over radio.
Before the restart, Yuki Tsunoda had the best time of 1.29.172s, in front of Charles Leclerc and Esteban Ocon. Just before the session resumed, Oliver Bearman pulled from the traffic and back into the garage. The track conditions are divided, as half of the track would be better on intermediate tyres, and half of it – on wet ones.
With five minutes to go, Oscar Piastri improved from temporarily 15th to fifth in the standings for Q1. In the elimination zone were Bottas, Lawson, Bearman, Zhou, and Russell. The latter driver clocked in a new flying lap, usurping everyone to second place, half a second behind the time of Tsunoda.
Max Verstappen could not reach them, as he settled in fifth place for now but his time was deleted for track limits. Meanwhile, Nico Hulkenberg went of in sector three, causing a brief yellow flag.
Lewis Hamilton slid all over the track on his flying lap. "This damn car", he complained over team radio, as he finished, still being at risk. He was kicked out of qualifying by Liam Lawson, who improved to go through to Q2. "I don’t have any hopes for the race. Just going to do what I can do", Hamilton said to F1TV later on.
Just then the chequered flag for Q1 was waved, and Alex Albon flew to first place with a 1:28.072s, but was immediately soared by Dutchman Verstappen by more than half a second. Lando Norris held on to his entry to Q2 by straws, being temporarily in P15. The big shock was for Haas, as both drivers were eliminated.
Knocked out: Hamilton, Bearman, Colapinto, Hulkenberg, Zhou.
Q2
As the second part of qualifying went underway, rain had subsided for a bit. All drivers went out on tracks still on wet tyres, except of Oscar Piastri on intermediates. Ferraris were the first to set times, with laps under 1:30s each. With ten minutes to go in the session, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez were leading the timing board, the Dutchman clocking in a 1:27.771s to go to the top.
Oscar Piastri was faster on his intermediate tyres, as Lando Norris drove into the pits to change his tyres. The Australian soared everyone with a 1:27.141s, for now.
Then the yellow flag was waved briefly, as George Russell spun at turn ten on intermediate tyres. Piastri was on a winning trip, as he improved his time by a whole two seconds. With seven minutes to go, Pierre Gasly, Liam Lawson, Alex Albon, Esteban Ocon, and Yuki Tsunoda were in the elimination zone.
George Russell followed suit with Australian Piastri, as he improved to second, having a gap of 1.128s to the temporary leader. He finished his flying lap in time, as yellow flags were brought out in sector one.
The red flag was brought out again, as Carlos Sainz hit the barriers in turn two, getting stuck with the right rear tyre. The Spaniard was about to start his flying lap, when he spun out of action in qualifying. As the session was about to resume, heavier rain was imminent soon.
Thus, cars started to line up in the pit lane early. They want to make improvements in their grid positions before heavier rain would hit. At risk of elimination were Norris, Gasly, Albon, Tsunoda, and Ocon at that moment. As cars went back on track, it was five minutes to go till the end of this part of qualifying.
Lando Norris finished his flying lap in Q2 with a 1:26.406s, coming through to P3. Tsunoda and Albon improved to step up right after the Brit, too. Then Fernando Alonso soared everyone with a 1:25.035s, pushing Verstappen to the edge of elimination. Norris improved again, by one and a half second, as did Liam Lawson, who flew to P4, for now. Then yellow flags were waved in sector one.
Red flags disrupt the qualifying session once again. Lance Stroll lost his rear in turn three and spun hard into the barriers, right where Franco Colapinto spun in Q1, too. This meant that Q2 would not be resumed, as less than a second of the session was left.
Max Verstappen had just started a flying lap, but needed to abort with the yellow flags. He sat in the elimination zone, alongside teammate Sergio Perez. *However, the Dutchman has had a five-place grid penalty on hand, leaving him almost at the end of the grid for the race. Carlos Sainz was pushed back in the grid positions, and Pierre Gasly and Valtteri Bottas failed to improve on time.
Knocked out: Bottas, Verstappen*, Perez, Sainz, Gasly
Q3
The start of the last part of qualifying was delayed for a bit, as heavier rain was expected. It needed to be noted that both VCarb-drivers were seen in Q3 at the same time for the first time this season. As Q3 unfolded, Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda had already out qualified the drivers of the team's big brother at Red Bull Racing.
The first flying laps were set by Alex Albon and Esteban Ocon. However, the McLaren drivers usurped both cars. Then Yuki Tsunoda split up the McLarens brilliantly, as he set a time with a half a second gap to Norris. Charles Leclerc followed suit.
With the second run around the track, the tyres were warmed up, and more drivers started to improve their times. Lando Norris held the best time of 1:24.158s, when red flags were waved – for a fourth time in qualifying today.
Fernando Alonso spun at the same section as his teammate earlier, losing his rear. The Aston Martin team would have a difficult time, rebuilding both cars for the race today. The Spaniard hit the barriers with both the front and the rear, going in sideways. His potential damage could be worse than on Lance Stroll's car.
As marshals cleared the racetrack, the order looked the following: Lando Norris and Alex Albon are in the top two spots, ahead of Oscar Piastri and Esteban Ocon. Then comes George Russell, Charles Leclerc, Yuki Tsunoda, and Liam Lawson.
As the session resumed – with six and a half minutes to go – George Russell went first on track, and all the remaining eight drivers of Q3 followed suit. As Russell started his flying lap, he went wide in the first sector, aborting his lap.
The session was hard for the drivers, as they all slid here and there. Alex Albon was on a brilliant lap, about to set a new flying lap, as he spun in the first corner and hit the barriers hard. Another red flag was waved, as debris lied all over the corner.
It would be a hard job for the Williams' mechanics to repair Albon's car, if that would be possible, with about three-four hours before the race start. Both left tyres hanged on mere strips of carbon fibre, and the floor seemed to have caught damage. It would be a big ask if they have had enough spare parts for that, as Albon had a good standing on the board before the crash.
Replays show that Oscar Piastri spun in turn two, as well as Tsunoda in turn four, but both drivers managed to keep their cars out of the barriers and on track. It seemed to still be really slippery, as the session would still be resumed, with 3:30 minutes to go.
As Q3 resumed for a second time, there were two minutes left for a flying lap. Esteban Ocon locked his front tyres in the first corner, as he started his flying lap to maximize his grid position.
Lando Norris was trying to hold onto his pole position, as he finished his timed lap with a 1:24.092s. Oscar Piastri was warming his tyres, but missed the first corner. Thus, he qualified in P8.
The chequered flag was waved, Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda in the Racing Bulls usurped Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari, as they sat in P5 and P3, respectively. The Monegasque failed to improve his time and qualified in P6. Esteban Ocon qualified in P4, in between the VCarb-teammates.
George Russell soared the drivers, clinching to P2, as Lando Norris improved his time again, with a time of 1:23.405s. In P7 would start Alex Albon, given the team would repair the car before the race would start. The last two places in the top ten were occupied by both Aston Martin drivers, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, who spun out of the sessions in Q3 and Q2, respectively.
Who will win the 2024 São Paulo Grand Prix at the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace in Interlagos? Let’s watch and see today at 3:30 p.m. BST (12:30 p.m. track time).
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