McLaren’s Lando Norris will start the Brazilian Grand Prix from pole position on Sunday, while championship leader Max Verstappen from Red Bull will begin in 17th place after facing difficulties during a rain-affected qualifying session that saw five crashes.
The points gap between Norris and Verstappen is 44.
Norris achieved the fastest lap time on the wet Interlagos track at 1 minute, 23.405 seconds. His fellow countryman George Russell from Mercedes will start in second place. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who still has a slim chance of winning the championship, qualified in sixth.
“I am a little surprised, again,” Norris said. “It was easy to end up badly, on the wall.” “It is a relieving qualifying,” he added.
Three-time champion Verstappen didn’t make it to the final part of qualifying. He finished 12th in the second segment but was pushed back five spots due to a penalty for changing his engine for the sixth time this season, which is more than the allowed four.
Each part of qualifying had at least one crash, involving Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, teammate Fernando Alonso, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Jr., Williams’ Alex Albon, and his teammate Franco Colapinto.
As a result, the starting grid looked unusual, with Yuki Tsunoda from Visa Cash App RB qualifying in third place and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon beside him.
“I had a couple of mistakes, but I had a little luck as well,” Tsunoda said. “We had a good pace in the rain as well.” Tsunoda’s teammate Liam Lawson completed the top five.
Sergio Perez, the other Red Bull driver, also did not make it to the final part of qualifying, finishing with the 13th fastest time. Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes will start from 15th place after he moved up a spot due to Verstappen’s penalty and also failed to reach the second part of qualifying.
Qualifying began at 7:30 a.m. local time (10:30 GMT) in conditions with low grip, and there were two red flags after crashes by Stroll and Colapinto. The start of the Grand Prix was moved up from 2 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. (15:30 GMT). All drivers began on wet tires but switched to intermediates as qualifying continued.
Many drivers arrived at Interlagos around 6 a.m. Ferrari’s Sainz even took time to serve coffee to his team as they got ready for qualifying.
Organizers noted that Sunday’s qualifying had only happened five times in F1 history, with a German driver taking pole position each time. The last was at the 2019 Japanese Grand Prix, when four-time champion Sebastian Vettel started in front.
The FIA announced that qualifying was delayed on Saturday for two hours, and no cars had the chance to set any laps. They stated that this was due to poor visibility caused by heavy rain, with standing water on parts of the track making it unsafe.
Many of the more than 60,000 fans who came to Interlagos on Saturday did not show up for qualifying on Sunday morning.
The gap between Norris and Verstappen might narrow further in Brazil, with four Grand Prix races and a final sprint race left in the season.
Organizers have not yet decided if the tribute to the legendary three-time champion Ayrton Senna will happen on Sunday. The late Brazilian’s championship-winning McLaren is set to be driven by one of his biggest fans, Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes.
