McLaren’s Lando Norris took pole in a wet qualifying session at the Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix, beating George Russell on a treacherous Interlagos circuit.
In a difficult session that was red flagged for more than an hour due to heavy rain and standing water, Norris dominated the final Q3 shootout with a lap of 1:27.470 on the intermediate tires, edging Mercedes’ Russell by two tenths.
Russell was suffering a five-place grid penalty for a powertrain change, but was still furious that his Mercedes team asked him to abort his second flying lap in Q3.
Antonelli qualified third, six tenths behind Norris, with Charles Leclerc fourth at Ferrari. In addition to Russell’s demotion, Leclerc’s 10-place engine penalty elevated Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson from fifth to third on Sunday’s grid.
Lawson is under pressure to keep his seat as Racing Bulls consider promoting reserve driver Nikola Tsolov instead, but the New Zealander delivered a standout performance to give the team something to think about.
Nico Hulkenberg also shone in sixth for Audi, followed by Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar and Haas driver Oliver Bearman. Fernando Alonso and Alex Albon complete the top 10 on Saturday.
George Russell, Mercedes
Photo by: Colin McMaster / LAT Images via Getty Images
In Q2, Alonso was the first driver to move up to intermediates in a bid to get his Aston Martin out of the belly of the pack. Others quickly followed suit, and Russell secured P1 with a lap of 1’26”745 around the green-walled enclosure, ahead of an impressive Lawson and Hadjar.
New world champion Antonelli only just managed to move up to 10th, eliminating Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, who was already expected to start at the back with a power unit penalty anyway.
Oscar Piastri also failed to progress, with the McLaren driver occupying a disappointing 12th place. Haas rookie Rafael Camara had made good progress in Q2 despite an exit, but then crashed late in the session going straight into the wall at Turn 12, drawing a late red flag.
In the second Racing Bulls car, Arvid Lindblad was dropped to 14th due to a powertrain problem, followed by Carlos Sainz in the Williams. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who joined Hamilton at the back of the grid with his own engine penalty, did not exit in Q2 and placed 16th.
After an earlier downpour and more rain on the horizon, Q1 started on time but with conditions deteriorating just before the session went green.
Several drivers immediately parked their cars only to be pushed back and exchange their intermediates for solid rain tires. Those who went out confirmed it was a good idea, with cars going straight back in after reporting hydroplaning as race control flagged off the session.
Nico Hulkenberg, Audi F1 Team
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images
After a delay of more than an hour and 20 minutes, the session resumed with the green light with 15 minutes of Q1 on the clock and conditions still dangerous enough to warrant full rain tires.
With conditions still poor but constantly improving, it was all about fueling, circulating and finding a rhythm to peak at the end of the session. Norris ended up leading the segment with a time of 1m30.939s, 10 seconds faster than the lap times just 15 minutes earlier, ahead of Russell and Verstappen.
At the back of the pack, Haas debutant Camara survived a spin and contact with the wall after Turn 3, which broke his front wing but spared his suspension, to advance to 13th to the delight of Brazilian fans.
Alpine was the biggest loser in Q1 with Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly eliminated in 16th and 17th places, regretting a complete lack of grip. Lance Stroll was also 18th, followed by Cadillac duo Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez.
The other Brazilian crowd favorite, Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto, was less fortunate than Camara and damaged the left rear of his car after an exit at Turn 12, engaging in a small tractor pull to pull his car out of a deep mud puddle and return to the pits.
Brazilian GP F1 – Qualifying report
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