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Max Verstappen said he felt as if he was “driving a jet ski” at Interlagos, so wet were the conditions. It looked more like walking on water.
One of the most extraordinary days in recent Formula One history, a day that began at 7.30am with a qualifying session held over from Saturday due to the stormy weather in Sao Paulo, ended with one of the most extraordinary comebacks of all time.
Verstappen’s sublime victory from 17th on the grid at Interlagos was astounding not simply because of the number of places he made up, but because the Dutchman looked as if he was driving in a completely different race to everyone else.
Verstappen won by 19 seconds on a day when everyone else struggled to stay on the track. He set 17 fastest laps in total. Ten of Verstappen’s final 11 laps would have been good enough for fastest lap of the race. His fastest, of 1min 20.472sec, was more than a second quicker than the next-best driver.
This was reminiscent of Ayrton Senna at Donington in 1993, or Lewis Hamilton at Silverstone in 2008. It was that good.
Hamilton has a reputation as one of the best wet-weather drivers of all time, but the seven-time world champion had a truly chastening day, the sort that will have people asking whether Ferrari have signed a busted flush at 39.
Hamilton’s best drive of the day was actually when he drove Ayrton Senna’s 1990 McLaren around the circuit to the delight of the huge crowds who adore him here. Hamilton crashed out of qualifying in Q1, labelling the car “undriveable”. He then finished 10th in the race itself but had a miserable time of it, being passed by a hat-trick of rookies in Williams’ Franco Colapinto, Haas’ Ollie Bearman and RB’s Liam Lawson (twice), even if he did reclaim some of those places.
Colapinto gets past Hamilton to the DELIGHT of his fans in the stands! 🤩 pic.twitter.com/XzCEQ9Ij3R
“The car’s undriveable mate,” he repeated mid-race to his engineer Pete Bonnington. It may have been, but it did not help Hamilton’s case that his team-mate George Russell was able to put his car second on the grid and then finish fourth. “At least one [Mercedes] car was behaving,” Hamilton said, before adding of his own: “It’s like a plank of wood. There’s no suspension. It’s just bouncing on the tyres, everywhere. Can’t get on the power anywhere… I could happily go take a holiday.”
At least Hamilton did not see his title hopes go down the drain. Lando Norris’ are pretty much dead in the water by this point.
Talk about a momentum shift. McLaren began the day laughing off accusations that they have been filling their tyres with water to aid performance, and it looked as if everything was going swimmingly for Norris’ title charge when the Briton took pole and Verstappen P17 in qualifying.
Instead, after a farcical start which saw Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll crash his car on the formation lap and the leading drivers mistakenly drive a second one, Norris tumbled from first to sixth thanks to a combination of driver error and team strategy.
It is only the formation lap and Lance Stroll has lost control of his car at Turn Four! 😲😅 pic.twitter.com/SSBuRJ1udk
Having been sitting pretty in pole position, Norris ended up losing big points to Verstappen, who started P17. The Dutchman now has a 62-point lead in the drivers’ championship with only 86 available. If my calculations are correct, Verstappen just needs to finish ahead of Norris at the next race in Las Vegas to be crowned champion.
He ended the day both despondent and defensive, describing himself as “unlucky” and Verstappen as “lucky” with the timing of the red flags.
The Dutch driver may have been, but there was nothing remotely lucky about the way he drove. It may have killed the title race stone dead, but you could only take your hat off to him.
“My emotions were all over the place, from wanting to destroy the garage to winning the race,” Verstappen said. “The rain came, we stayed out, which was very sketchy, and I had to keep the car on track. But it was undriveable in the conditions. I felt like I was driving a boat, or a jet-ski.
“The win was incredibly important because I was expecting to lose points in the championship. Now, I just want clean races. And I am not thinking about clinching the title in Vegas.
“There was a lot at stake because I had to be aware of the championship so for me this is the best one [victory]. And it is a massive boost for the team because it has been tough.”
Norris’ miserable day was completed when he was handed a 5000-euro fine – along with Russell – for doing a second formation lap despite the start having been aborted.
It was an unbelievable day. At least, for most. Bernie Ecclestone, now 94 but in town with his wife Fabiana who works for the FIA, was asked pre-race who his money was on. “Max,” he replied. Maybe he is still running the show after all.
By Tom Cary
Lando Norris’ championship hopes were all but washed away in rainy Brazil as a hat-trick of mistakes and a possible strategy error contributed to the McLaren driver finishing a hugely disappointing sixth at Interlagos having started the race on pole.
Norris described Verstappen’s win as “a bit lucky”, lamenting the timing of red flags mid-race which allowed the Red Bull driver a free change of tyres, a “silly rule” which he said “nobody agreed with”.
But Norris could only have himself to blame for losing the lead to Mercedes’ George Russell off the start line.
IT’S LIGHTS OUT, AND AWAY WE GO! 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴George Russell takes the lead from Lando Norris! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/BzypovHTBC
He and his team then chose to pit during a safety car period mid-race while others including Verstappen stayed out, a potentially decisive call.
Norris was then passed again by Russell at the restart, and later went off track following another safety car period, losing a further two positions, one of which was given back to him by his team-mate Oscar Piastri.
Norris defended the team’s decision to pit on lap 28, behind Russell, arguing they were just “unlucky” that Williams’ Franco Colapinto then crashed, bringing out red flags.
“It was the right time to box,” he insisted. “It was the right thing. No regrets. Just unlucky. A silly rule that no-one agrees with. But you say that you agree with it when it works for you. Every driver said they wanted it changed. It’s just unfortunate. It’s a rule. You win some; you lose some. It benefited them today. Well done to them.
“I made a couple of mistakes which I own up to. It cost me a couple of positions in the end.”
Asked how he would process the disappointment, which almost certainly ended his title hopes, Norris replied: “Quite easy. I did all I could do today. Max had more pace. If he had started at the front he probably would have lapped us.”
Max won after starting P17 on the gridOnly FIVE out of 1,121 previous world championship races have been won from 17th or lower on the grid #F1 #BrazilGP
Well, sort of. You’d expect this to be the case, but just shows how rare an occasion today was.
Verstappen needs to have a 52-point lead after Las Vegas to confirm his championship.
November 23, Las Vegas Grand PrixDecember 1, Qatar Grand PrixDecember 8, Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Red Bull close the gap to the two in front but the biggest movement is from sixth down. Alpine move up from ninth to sixth with that 33-point haul meaning there are just five points between them and RB in eighth. Williams now have an enormous job to claim back the eighth place that they had at the start of the day.
Verstappen stretches his lead to 62 points and that, surely, is that. Just 86 points available so Verstappen needs just 24 points to confirm his title over the next three rounds and sprint.
“We made the right calls, we stayed calm and we were flying. To win here from so far back on the grid… yeah.”
“What an extraordinary day. Having been sitting pretty in pole position, Norris ends up losing big points to Verstappen, who started P17. The Dutchman now has a 62-point lead in the drivers’ championship with only 86 available. If my calculations are correct, and if things stay as they are (a big if given the investigations ongoing), Verstappen just needs to finish ahead of Norris at the next race in Las Vegas to be crowned champion.”
You know how much he likes not winning. Or at least not having a competitive car.
Max Verstappen’s run of 10 GPs without a win since June’s Spanish GP is well and truly over! 💪 pic.twitter.com/5WLL1alBRI
Well, track position certainly helped the top three drivers, none of whom did a ‘proper’ pit stop. That is not to take anything away from their achievements, though. What they did worked. For Verstappen, though, his talent and skills in the wet made the difference.
Verstappen finished 19 seconds ahead of Ocon in the end. Norris finished sixth but unless he takes a penalty greater than 10 seconds for his pit-lane infringement, he will stay there.
Piastri drops back a place after his 10-second penalty. McLaren only sixth and eighth.
“Simply lovely!” is Verstappen’s response to his first win since June.
Stunning stuff, really. It did not quite feel inevitable after he moved up to 11th on lap one but a win certainly felt on the cards. Alpine take a double podium and 33 points. That is enormous. Absolutely enormous for the team. They had scored just 16 points all season before that!
What a masterclass in the wet from Verstappen. Simply superb.
If Hamilton gets a penalty he might well end up in 10th anyway. But we wait to see if he and Russell will. Russell, Lawson, Tsunoda and Norris will also be investigated after the race for the start procedure infringment. Things could get worse for Norris.
This feels like a wetter flashback to spring 2025.
Verstappen cruising to victory and increasing his championship lead significantly making it almost a foregone conclusion. Not many other close battles on the track, either, though Perez is trying to overtake Hamilton.
“I will finish the race for the mechanics. They did a very good job today… but my back is hurting. This bouncing is not normal,” says Fernando Alonso on the radio.
RB started the race third and fifth but have dropped back here to eighth and ninth currently. Six points is not a bad total, though.
2.8sec the gap now. Russell cannot get past Gasly.
For a collision with Liam Lawson at turn one quite a while ago. That would drop him down to eighth, so just one place.
13.3sec the lead to Ocon.
I think so. He will be ending his long winless run and quite easily, too.
Not really, no. Norris 2.1sec behind Leclerc and you feel destined to stay there for the rest of the race. Verstappen posts another fast lap and takes a 0.8sec out of Ocon behind in second.
Gasly under increasing pressure from Russell for that podium spot. Russell again may end up with a penalty for Mercedes altering his tyre pressure on the grid.
“If Verstappen wins this from P17 he would join Kimi Raikkonen (Japan 2005) in third place in the list of ‘wins from the lowest grid position’. John Watson is far and away the leader in this category, winning from P22 at Long Beach in 1983, while Rubens Barrichello, who started P18 at the 2000 German Grand Prix at Hockenheim, is in second place.”
Plenty of action. Qualifying earlier this morning seems like a lifetime ago. It has been very hard to overtake today. It’s normally easier in the dry.
Russell is around 1.2sec behind Gasly but lost time on the last lap.
As it stands, without any penalties, Norris would lose 19 points to Verstappen, taking the Dutchman’s championship lead to 63 points…
“He drove into the side of me,” he says. Not quite. Verstappen sets the fastest lap and extends his lead to 8.9sec over Esteban Ocon.
Perez tries to go up the inside of turn one but Lawson says nope when they come back to turns two and three.
LAP 55/69 Lawson and Perez lock horns again, banging wheels into Turn 2 😵The Kiwi wins this battle and keeps hold of P9#F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/wmBbJ2Lj85
Perez then drops back a spot to Hamilton and out of the points.
LAP 54/69Lewis now right in the back of the battling LAW and PER in the battle for P9 pic.twitter.com/i36lcpmZ4L
They get close a couple of times at this lap at turn one and turn 10. Hamilton is closing in on them, too.
Does this matter? Probably not. Norris 1.5sec behind Leclerc. It’s a shame for Norris of course that he looks to be losing a chunk of points to Verstappen here but it’s also a shame for the hopes of having a realistic championship. As it stands Verstappen could well confirm a fourth world championship (in a row) in Las Vegas.
0.8sec faster than Ocon on the last lap and nearly seven seconds ahead in total of the Frenchman.
…for the start procedure infringement, that would currently drop him back to ninth or 10th.
Earlier today, when Verstappen was eliminated, I wrote that “if Verstappen was going to start 17th and he got to choose the track and the conditions, he would probably pick ‘Interlagos’ and ‘raining’.” And so it was.
Piastri locks up and goes wide at the end of the lap, but manages to keep his place ahead of Tsunoda.
He is 1.1sec behind. Lap times at 1:22.2 at the front, Norris at 1:23.2, a second slower. Not sure how, short of Verstappen doing something inexplicable, that this race comes back to Norris in any way.
The class of the field today. I cannot say I am that surprised.
Second and third as it stands and with decent pace in these conditions. They are on for 33 points. They’ve only scored 16 all season!
Piastri moves over for Lando Norris and he is now in sixth. Leclerc the next man up the road and then Russell. Leclerc immediately comes under pressure from Norris, who needs to make rapid progress here. Even so, he’s 11.3sec behind Verstappen.
Leclerc noted for rejoining the track unsafely at turn four. Who would be a steward today?
I mean, I never thought that Verstappen would fail to get into the points here, even the upper reaches of them but this is turning into a nightmare afternoon for the Briton.
Norris has Piastri directly ahead of him. Not sure he will make life too difficult for him. Alonso now 15th and last after spinning.
And Verstappen takes the lead! How quickly things can change in F1. Norris down to seventh from fifth.
Unbelievable scenes at the restart 🤯Verstappen takes the lead as behind Norris slides at Turn 1 and drops to P7 #F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/uFw31y8v1Q
Will that be that? Plenty of laps to go and potentially more thrills and spills but, I can’t see Verstappen surrendering the win here.
Hamilton and Bearman are at it… Alonso goes off!
Can Ocon ace this restart like he did the last?
I dread to think how many millions of pounds worth of damage has been caused in crashes today.
“There is another band of rain, potential for the end of the race,” is the message to Leclerc.
Here’s the top 10:
The field has not yet fully bunched up under the SC but it will not be long.
Norris told that if the weather stays as it does then these tyres will last until the chequered flag.
Sainz has gone into the barriers and that brings out the Safety Car… the Spaniard is out.
Carlos Sainz spins at Turn Eight and is in the wall!The Safety Car is deployed immediately and Sainz looks to be out of the race ❌ pic.twitter.com/CBxjvO0pnm
Nobody chooses to get a free pit stop.
I think Bearman has spun again at turn 12/13… he rejoins, though. Not his day, I’m afraid. He has scored points in his first two races for Ferrari and Haas but something remarkable will have to happen if he is to score any today.
Norris still around 1.9sec behind Russell and in fifth.
Bearman spins into the wall in the middle of the lap. He manages to slow it down enough so that the damage isn’t terminal but he will have to pit again for a new front wing. Not his first mistake today in a difficult race for the youngster.
Ocon and Verstappen have checked out up front. Gasly is eight seconds behind Ocon, mind you, Ocon is leading by 3.5sec over Verstappen…
2.6sec it is. Gasly not exactly closing him down, though. Norris has more to worry about from Leclerc behind than with Russell ahead, I’m afraid.
There’s a lot of spray out there as they need to establish a dry line again. After spending so long behind Russell, Norris passed him just before the red flag and within six corners he’s behind again… frustrating, as it has been for much of the season, as good as he has been.
That has happened a bit sooner. Ocon backs the pack up. There’s a yellow flag because Zhou and Bearman have gone off at the back!
The race resumes…
Ocon leads the field away into turn one and keeps the lead. How long before Verstappen leads? I give it one lap…
Norris runs wide at turn five and then loses the place to Russell in the middle sector! He’s down to fifth. And Leclerc then runs wide and is vulnerable to Leclerc. Cold tyres and a wet track do not make a grippy combination.
Ocon leads Verstappen by 1.7sec at the end of the lap…
I believe the current plan is for a rolling start after a few laps behind the Safety Car.
Here is the top 10:
Tom Cary writes: “Will Ocon make life hard for Verstappen at the restart? They have history in Brazil of course.”
Luck or no luck.
Max is ready to go again 💪He started this race P17, he’s currently P2 with only Esteban Ocon ahead of him – absolutely remarkable! #F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/QvMVuumaJa
Because he was a lap behind the field.
It will be a rolling start. Nico Hulkenberg heads back to the Haas garage after his black flag for this below:
There was some tactical intrigue with some cars stopping and some not but now he is looking at losing points to Verstappen and not gaining them. That said, we are not even at the half-way stage yet… what a day.
OUT: COL, ALB, STRDSQ: HUL
Yes, Nico Hulkenberg has been disqualified for receiving outside assistance after crashing and then rejoining.
RED FLAG! 🚩Franco Colapinto crashes into the barriers and the drivers head back into the pits 💥 pic.twitter.com/6FXR5Lr9ed
Just shows how difficult it is to drive in tricky conditions. Hard to be too critical of anyone out there bar Lance Stroll.
Russell was furious as the red flag was called.
“F—! I said it! Should have stayed out!” he says. Same goes for Norris.
It’s such a complicated picture, though, with so many variables and it is easy to be wise in hindsight.
For continuing on the track after receiving assistance. By the way Mercedes are also being investigated:
“On the grid and when the race start was aborted, between the 10 minutes and the 5 minutes signal, on car numbers 63 and 44, the tyre pressures were adjusted (pressure released) with wheels already fitted to the car.”
Norris asks – or rather makes the point – that all the cars can change tyres now. “Yes they can,” comes the reply. Have McLaren made an error here? I think so, but is it a forgivable one? Probably. Could they have stayed out? Probably. They pitted under the VSC when they though it was a cheap pit stop but it ended up not being.
I do think the rule that cars can change their tyres under a red flag is absolutely ridiculous and should be discarded next year.
Colapinto had just stopped for fresh tyres and lost it at the final corner. It’s yet more significant damage for the Williams guys.
The rain has eased a little. But Franco Colapinto has gone into the wall!
LAP 32/70: 🔴 RED FLAG 🔴With the Safety Car still circulating, Colapinto has crashed into the barriers 💥The remaining drivers return to the pits #F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/hcakPrw9ZR
This is surely a red flag. Confirmed!
That means the top three of Ocon, Verstappen and Gasly will get to change their tyres free of charge here when the race stops. That is big when it comes to the race result and indeed the championship.
Colapinto is getting out of his car.
Italics indicates drivers who have not stopped, bold indicates drivers on full wet tyres.
He moves up into fourth. Russell going very slowly on the second straight.
Norris overtakes Russell! 🟠 pic.twitter.com/VhqJFW2fTs
And the conditions are so bad that they have brought out the Safety Car. What does that mean for the top three who have not yet stopped? They all stay out. It would be a cheap pit stop but could Ocon get out again? He decides to stay out in the lead.
For causing a collision. Not sure what collision that was, I missed it. It’s been a busy race. Tsunoda, Lawson and Perez are the only cars out there on the full wets and I think that might be the right decision.
Ocon leads and is doing very well. His last lap was five seconds faster than Verstappen. OK….
Somehow Nico Hulkenberg gets going again and the VSC ends. In come Russell and Norris does as well. This looks like full wet conditions now. Surely? Russell and Norris try to get a cheap pit stop under the VSC but it ends and they do not get as much as they might have.
Visibility is so poor out there now…
Ocon now leads Verstappen and Gasly. None of whom have stopped.
Norris is right behind Russell and is gaining, gaining and gaining. Leclerc has pitted for fresh tyres. Hulkenberg has spun at turn one and looks beached.
VSC!A very beached Haas there. pic.twitter.com/YtM9m1kbZh
McLaren decide not to bring Norris in… as the rain gets heavier and heavier…. it’s a virtual safety car. Can Verstappen pit? No, he cannot. He has passed the pit lane. Piastri comes in.
And he drops down into ninth. Still in the points. Norris now gaining on Russell and has made up a second or so inthe last few laps since Leclerc’s pit stop.
Norris is closer… but not close enough to Russell to think about a move.
Is that the right call? Norris is now within 0.5sec of Russell and asks his team to think about pitting to overtake Russell, as it were. That pit stop for Leclerc has moved Verstappen up to fifth, though.
Norris wants to pit because of the rain. He is told this tyre should be OK for a while and that they would prefer to stay out. “Okay,” Norris replies.
The rain is getting heavier out there now. These ‘slicktermediates’ will not be much use soon…
In comes Leclerc. For fresh intermediates? Or wets?
Verstappen now 14 seconds behind leader Russell, so this is costing him. Tsunoda in third now under huge pressure from Ocon behind. Leclerc and Verstappen in that battle, too.
At turn one, but Leclerc is wise to it. He tries one later on the lap but that doesn’t work either. He complains about being squeezed onto the white line. He gets a snap of oversteer in the middle sector and it costs him about half a second, I reckon.
Confirmation that the race is in fact a 69-lap one, not a 70-lap one.
1.7sec the gap to leader Russell now. Verstappen stuck behind Leclerc which is good news for Norris. Russell does set the fastest middle sector of the race as he extends his lead further.
“The car’s not driveable, mate,” he says. A friend of mine just texted me to call him “the Mercedes’ Perez”. Harsh… but on today’s performance correct, I’m afraid.
Hamilton loses positions, now down to 15th. A bad, bad weekend for him here. Verstappen with the fastest final sector. Norris told that these intermediate tyres will become ‘slicktermediate’ (in between intermediate and slick tyres due to wear) in six or seven laps and that they need to get the next band of heavier rain and then make a decision.
He has dropped to 11.5sec behind Russell, though still has decent pace. Isn’t exactly losing bags of time to the leaders. Norris is back within a second of Norris at the end of this lap.
Heavier rain expected in the next 15 minutes, I believe.
He has complained about being slow on the straight. Norris lost half a second to Russell that lap. Not sure why. Verstappen harrying Leclerc but cannot really create much of a chance for an overtake yet.
Verstappen all over the back of the Ferrari. The Ferrari all over the back of the Alpine.
LAP 16/70Ocon 🆚 Leclerc 🆚 VerstappenKeep your eye on these three 👀#F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/9d8dtGg4Wp
Verstappen is 10.7sec behind Russell in the lead.
Great…
Great move! Hamilton was getting up to speed again but that was a clean, decisive move from the Argentine who is roundly cheered. Verstappen now eating chunks of time out of Leclerc. He’s driving a different race to the others, almost.
Verstappen only 10.1sec behind Norris in second. Liam Lawson is the next man up the road. I am not sure he will provide too much resistance and indeed he doesn’t, almost letting Verstappen through at a spot that isn’t usually an overtaking spot. Verstappen has some clear air before Leclerc up the road in fifth.
Yellow flags. Hamilton has gone off and rejoins in 12th.
Not sure what Piastri was doing there, to be honest. He left the door wide open and Verstappen took the opportunity. Yes, he was a long way back but not that far.
Bearman gets a penalty for causing a collision. 10 seconds. Will Verstappen treat the McLaren of Piastri like the hind end of a donkey? I think he will be wary. Whatever Piastri can do to hold up Norris will help, though.
Hamilton on the radio: “The ride is really bad, car bouncing so much,” he says.
The gap is around one second to Russell, the race leader. Verstappen is now within a second of Piastri and takes out 0.4sec from him in the first sector alone. I think he will get him at turn one this next lap.
He has just set the fastest lap of the race. Piastri needs to drive a wide McLaren here.
He has Tsunoda 3.3sec behind. Verstappen has overtaken Alonso for eighth and has Oscar Piastri ahead of him. Russell, Tsunoda, Lawson and Norris noted for that starting procedure infringement in total.
He gets Gasly at turn one… Norris is within a second of Russell now. Is Verstappen in contention for the victory here? It is early but I think he might be. He is only 10.8sec behind Norris as it stands. Mind you, that will grow. Still, these conditions give him the best chance of making up time quickly.
Not enormously but he sets the fastest lap of the race and the gap is at 1.4sec to Russell ahead.
…in the final sector of the lap. Russell told to cool his tyres but the rain will do that if it arrives in decent quanitity.
Here’s the top 10:
He does it a turn one on the inside and does it easily. Next up for Verstappen is his former team-mate Gasly. Hamilton has very little confidence in that Mercedes it seems. Russell stretches his lead to nearly two seconds over Norris.
We finally get going in Sao Paulo!
Russell makes the better start and takes the lead! Norris quite tentative there but no point trying to be a hero on lap one. Verstappen is already up to 11th! He is charging through the field with Hamilton ahead of him. Hamilton in 10th. I’m looking forward to this battle.
IT’S LIGHTS OUT, AND AWAY WE GO! 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴George Russell takes the lead from Lando Norris! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/BzypovHTBC
Perez spins at the back…
Russell leads by 1.2sec at the end of the first lap.
A third formation lap. Is rain incoming? It’s dry at the moment but there is a dark rain cloud bursting in the distance. What a chaotic and entertaining weekend this has been. I’ve loved it. And we haven’t even started the race…
Even though Norris was the instigator. Will they been investigated? And what would Norris’s penalty be? Anyway, we should be able to restart the race soon with another formation lap. I think that means the race distance will be reduced by a couple of laps.
For a starting procedure infringement. I think he should have just stayed on the grid until the lights went green. This means the race will likely be affected by the rain a little sooner than we thought.
Lando Norris is under investigation for a starting procedure infringement. pic.twitter.com/UxjjiXFlSf
It could have been the case that they could have started under the safety car. Red Bull seem to think that Norris and others made a mistake by doing another formation lap once the start was aborted rather than waiting on the grid.
Formation lap will start at 3.47pm GMT. Is Norris in trouble here?
Potential problems for Lando Norris 👀Race Control called for an “Aborted Start” following Stroll’s crash during the first formation lap which means that Norris and everyone else behind should have stayed put on the grid#F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/gDdxxha6eH
Some confusion on the grid as to what the correct procedure is. Stroll’s car is still in the run-off area but is out of the gravel. Not really sure what is happening here nor what should have happened. Verstappen says Colapinto ended up parking into the wrong grid slot.
Formation lap: Take 2 🎬There is all sorts of confusion as some drivers set off and other wait on the grid #F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/kLFRtbtGB4
Spun it at turn four, then managed to get going but beached the car in the gravel trying to get it back on the black stuff. The start procedure has been aborted. They will go around again and then take their positions again…
It is only the formation lap and Lance Stroll has lost control of his car at Turn Four! 😲😅 pic.twitter.com/SSBuRJ1udk
I bet the Aston Martin mechanics are wondering why they bothered fixing his car.
Lance Stroll has spun at turn four… has he damaged his car? Yes, he has. He lost the rear end at turn four and lost a bit of his front wing.
Will they abort the start? Oh, hang on. Stroll has pulled away and has ended up in the gravel somehow. Surely that has to be an aborted start!
“Christian Horner giving some last minute words of advice to Sergio Perez. Couldn’t hear it all but something about needing to help Max out today. Lots of rumours about his seat for next year. Liam Lawson an obvious candidate but Colapinto definitely in the frame.
“Would sell a lot of cans of Red Bull in South America. Think Red Bull would want to sign him permanently as opposed to a loan deal which seems to be Williams’ preference. Apparently Briatore has offered to take him to Alpine on loan.”
Title-chasing Norris is in the best possible position. Everyone on the intermediate tyres but with no rain for a little while and perhaps none for 20 minutes or so, how long will that last?
2. RUS 1. NOR4. OCO 3. TSU6. LEC 5. LAW8. PIA 7. [EMPTY]10. STR 9. ALO12. PER 11. BOT14. HAM 13. GAS16. COL 15. BEA18. HUL 17. VER 19. ZHOPIT LANE: SAI
So Verstappen in effect gains only one place, from Albon not taking the start. Albon’s grid slot is blank.
1520GMT #F1 #BBCF1 FIA official risk of rain is 100% for this event. Rain ETA still around 1250 local; mostly light at least initially
“Just had a chat with one of Oscar Piastri’s pit crew. He joked that they were just preparing to fill the tyres with coke.”
Today is a tough one to swallow when qualifying was coming along nicely. We don’t know what caused the crash but we’ll look into it, I feel for everyone in the garage, this was a race where anything could happen and I felt we could have done something great.
“Warm and sunny on the grid. Track drying. George Russell’s crew are taking down the awning which was over his car. Lando Norris’ is still up for now.”
If they finish where they start then Norris will reduce Verstappen’s advantage to 19 points, if not 18 if he bags the fastest lap. That woukd be quite something. A lot of racing will happen between now and then, though.
Colapinto is out there and so is Alonso. I think Stroll is too.
And time to go back to the track! 👊 #BrazilGP 🇧🇷 #F1 pic.twitter.com/LZoeLuwoBW
I am not sure whether this mean he has the grid slot 17, or whether he will be 17th of all the runners. I guess this implies that if he moves up from 17th, having qualified 12th, then he will not have served his full grid penalty.
Umbrellas out in the pit lane. It could be on and off and light and heavy between now and when the race finishes. Either way this should be a very entertaining race.
…Albon will not race, Sainz starts from the pit lane and Colapinto will race. Just the two Aston Martins we wait to hear back on, then. Alonso’s crash (below) looked the more significant of the two but you never can tell.
Williams have withdrawn his car from the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
A statement reads:
“Unfortunately, after assessing the extensive damage sustained to Alex Albon’s car, the required repairs could not be completed in the short window of time between qualifying and the race. The team is therefore forced to withdraw Alex’s car for the remainder of the Grand Prix. Franco Colapinto will compete in this afternoon’s Grand Prix.”
A shame but this sort of thing was always a risk. Not the first expensive crash the team have had this year, either.
“It needs to be straight red!” 🟥Max Verstappen was not happy after his Q2 exit 👇 pic.twitter.com/EC1KuQjMQZ
Having looked at Sky Sports F1’s analysis I am not sure it would have made a great deal of difference. The issue was that Stroll was attempting to get his car going again which means there was never going to be a straight red. By the time that it was clear he could not, there was not enough time.
Right, that’s another place Verstappen moves up. Looking likely to be 15th at worst, then.
After changing @CarlosSainz55 PU & gearbox, he will now start todays race from the pit lane#BrazilGP 🇧🇷 #F1 pic.twitter.com/xMovyC11Qj
Furious work going on down at Williams on Colapinto’s side of the garage. On Albon’s side, all quiet with gearbox not yet attached to car. Barring a minor miracle I’d suggest the driver was correct in his analysis that he would not be racing today.
He did qualify in seventh. Williams are in a battle with Alpine for eighth in the standings and have Ocon starting fourth and Gasly 15th. RB are also in a fight with Haas above them, 10 points in it. Haas are starting well down but RB start third and fifth. This is a good opportunity for them to level the points.
It actually looks not to be raining in the pit lane as the Sky Sports F1 team do not have umbrellas out.
Great scenes at Interlagos in the last hour or so as Lewis Hamilton circulated the track in Ayrton Senna’s 1990 championship-winning McLaren. He was due to take to the track yesterday but the weather had the last say. Not so today.
He was involved in a heavy crash in Q2 as he was provisionally on the front row. Of the crashes that happened in qualifying his looked like it caused the most damage. However, his Williams team have not yet confirmed that he will not be taking part.
Following Alex and Franco’s separate incidents during the wet Qualifying session here in São Paulo, both cars have extensive damage, which is being assessed. We have an incredible team behind us working tirelessly, with the aim of getting both cars repaired to race in the Grand… pic.twitter.com/Skwnm1aeWq
Lando Norris will have a golden opportunity to eat into his 44-point deficit to Max Verstappen in the drivers’ championship later today, with the McLaren driver starting what promises to be a wet and wild Brazilian Grand Prix from pole and his title rival down in 17th place on the grid.
A dramatic, crash-strewn, rain-soaked qualifying session – which began at 7.30am local time after torrential rain at Interlagos forced an overnight postponement – ended in bitter frustration for Verstappen. Red Bull’s triple world champion was unable to complete his final flying lap in Q2 after a prang involving Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll brought out red flags with just seconds remaining.
Verstappen was lying 10th at the time. Combined with a five-place grid penalty for a switch of internal combustion engine earlier in the weekend, it means he will line up 17th for this afternoon’s grand prix, although he could yet rise a few places given the number of teams making last-minute repairs to their cars.
Either way, he was furious afterwards, saying it was “bulls—” that it had taken “30-40 seconds” for the red flags to come out, time which might have allowed him to get another lap in.
You could see what his early exit meant to everyone at Red Bull, Verstappen banging his steering wheel in frustration, his father Jos Verstappen looking apoplectic and his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase holding his head in his hands on the pit wall.
Frustrations all round at Red Bull after that red flag 👇 pic.twitter.com/Ng5cdNc91u
Verstappen should have plenty of opportunities to overtake in the race. Interlagos is one of the easier tracks at which to pass. But it is also one of the most dangerous, particularly in the wet, with little visibility and lots of nervous drivers.
Qualifying was absolute carnage. There were five crashes in total, bringing out five red flags, a new Formula One record Norris ended up taking pole, just ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell, but the 24 year-old also endured some nervous moments.
He only just scraped through to Q2 after an earlier crash involving Williams’ up-and-coming star Franco Colapinto caused a delay. By the time the drivers were sent back out, the rain had got heavier, leading to some nervous moments for those in the drop zone. That included both Mercedes drivers and, for a time, Norris.
The McLaren driver just about squeaked home in 15th, one place above Hamilton, who looked to be suffering with confidence issues as he went over two seconds slower than his team mate Russell in the same conditions.
Afterwards, Hamilton called the car “undriveable” but for a man once known as the king of wet weather conditions, this result will have felt mortifying. It was Hamilton’s second Q1 exit in three races and he now trails his team mate 16-5 in qualifying this season.
A hectic end to Q1 😲 pic.twitter.com/at5S9KISzF
The fact that Russell went on to take second on the grid will only compound Hamilton’s frustration. It is Norris and Verstappen, though, on whom all eyes will be concentrated, on what could prove to be a defining day in the title race.
So just under three hours for those teams to make those repairs. I would be surprised if they all make it to the grid, especially Albon. We will fire up the blog again in around 90 minutes or so and bring you any updates from that. This could be a race for the ages.
Aston Martin: Stroll and AlonsoWilliams: Albon and ColapintoFerrari: Sainz
Only Colapinto is behind Verstappen’s provisional grid slot of 17th so there’s a good chance he will move up one way or another.
“Our focus now is on the race. What’s happened happened. These things are on a knife’s edge. Lando was nearly out in Q1 and has done a good job in the end there in Q3. At least we’ve got two cars in one piece in the garage. There’s a lot of teams that have got a [lot of work to do]. Let’s hope we get a race. There’s still a lot that can happen, the day’s not over yet.”
“It’s hugely frustrating. A session like that there’s a huge amount going on. Don’t understand why it took so long for the red flag to come out… 40 seconds it took to throw the red flag. It’s the second day in a row that we’ve had very late calls. The other red flags were all instantaneous. Very, very harsh but it is what it is. We will have to try to fight back this afternoon.
“All you’ve gt to do is focus on the safety. It’s not about cars finishing laps or not. As soon as you have an accident like that [you have to put out the red flag]. Lance Stroll wasn’t trying to get that car going again, it was screwed! It was in the middle of the track there at turn three, that’s a red flag. Unfortunately we’ve fallen on the wrong side of it today, but it’s a tough one.”
“It was very tricky. Certainly I enjoyed it. I think we had a good pace from straight away.. had a couple of mistakes but had a luck as well. I think as a team, including Liam as well, we did a good job. This track especially is one of the trickiest tracks. Once you build confidence and try to push a bit you have massive consequences as we saw today. I felt much better than yesterday, the car felt good. I think we had good pace in the race as well.”
“Really pleased to be lining up P2. I loved it. It reminded me of the karting days, waking up and having breakfast in your race suit and just going out there and driving. It was a great session but let’s see what we can do in the race.”
“It was a lot going on today. But super, super happy because I was struggling a lot at the beginning of qualifying. I was not comfortable at all. I worked at it a lot in qualifying. A little surprised to be on pole but some nice laps, it felt good in the end. It felt good for us.
“You are always trying to find that next little bit. You saw how many people were going off and crashing. It’s easy to do something badly… end up in the wall.”
That could be crucial in their fight with Haas ahead in the constructors’… Haas qualified down in 17th and 19th.
One hour and 44 minutes after the session began we have a pole sitter! It’s Lando Norris again and this is an enormous boost for his championship hopes with Verstappen down the grid.
Russell second, Tsunoda third and Ocon fourth.
Ocon goes third to split the RBs! Norris improves by 0.687sec…. and stays fastest.
Can Russell beat it? No! Second!
Leclerc only sixth! He had to lift off after Piastri went off.
Piastri will be eighth… he aborts his final lap.
Not massively but this next lap will be crucial. Piastri doesn’t threaten the front row, he doesn’t improve. He has another chance but blows that by locking up heavily at turn one! He does well to keep it out of the barriers but will be third at best…
Lawson improves to the front row! Will he stay there? No! Tsunoda beats him and narrowly misses out on pole.
Ocon locks up at turn one and this lap will not be an improvement. Norris does his best first sector time. Most drivers will get a chance to do two hot laps. The two RBs and Russell will have only one lap.
Norris was warned about keeping it out of the barriers if conditions were worse. They do not seem to be… the track is improving judging by the timing screens. Norris up on his previous best lap…
Just a few minutes left on the clock. Can anyone beat Norris? Can everyone keep it on the black stuff and out of the barriers?
Time to go again, 3:22 on the clock for Q3 #BrazilGP 🇧🇷 #F1 pic.twitter.com/7k6K5xmiK3
I don’t think the conditions have been treacherous but this is a track that promotes mistakes and the barriers are close in at plenty of the corners.
Only seven cars will be able to take part… will they all make it to the end of the session?
“I’m ok” 🙏Alex Albon has a BIG moment in qualifying and we have another red flag 😲 pic.twitter.com/H3IKZfsUHT
No word on a restart yet.
So plenty of time for more laps. What could have been a front-row start for Williams… well, who knows what it is going to be now?
All of these crashes of drivers ahead of him… there may well be some penalties and some drivers simply not able to take to the grid.
Albon says he’s OK.
That was a big impact 😵Alex is out of the car and seems okay 🙏#F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/Xe0Nt7ORu0
The medical car is at the scene of the crash and Albon is getting out of the car quite gingerly. He lost the rear end under braking at turn one.
“Did the brakes fail?” he says. The rears locked and into the barriers he went…
Tsunoda has stopped at turn four but eventually gets going… Norris’s first lap is about a second off his previous best. Leclerc posted a good sector one but nearly lost the rear end.
Albon has crashed at the start of the lap! Turn one in fact? Another big crash and that is going to be a nightmare for the Williams mechanics. He was on for a front row start. Will he even be able to take part?
BIG off for Albonred flags are out again pic.twitter.com/qQlmHg3GEz
It’s another red flag…
Eight cars out there after the crashes of Stroll in Q2 but finished 10th and Alonso, in Q3.
Russell runs off the track at turn five. Piastri has spun. Perhaps taking a little while for the tyres to reach temperature again even though it hasn’t rained since the red flag came out.
Just under seven minutes to go and George Russell leads them away. Can anyone dislodge Norris in this time?
That is the message to Lando Norris. We are going to restart Q3 in 90 seconds.
If you don’t like this then you don’t like F1.
Q3 will resume in just under three minutes.
👊 Heading back out.⏰ Q3 resumes in two minutes. pic.twitter.com/CIAnW1FtIP
So a good amount of time for several laps when we resume. However, the conditions might not help drivers trying to improve.
Albon on for a front-row start here…
Alonso spun at Mergulho and in fact went in rear right first before smashing the front. That could be a gearbox change. This grid is going to be a mess, I feel.
That’s two Aston Martins who have binned it in qualifying. Damage to the front of Alonso and the rear of Stroll’s car. With all these crashes Verstappen might well end up starting a few places higher in practice if some of these cars cannot be repaired in time.
Ocon on his second lap goes fastest but can Piastri beat that? He can, by four-tenths. Over to you Lando… Albon then goes fastest but Norris beats that by half a second.
Yellow flags again… red flag in fact. Alonso has stopped and is in the wall!
🔴 RED FLAG 🔴Now Alonso’s in the barriers 😵#F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/iubduzq5ZU
The two McLarens are coming up next. Piastri with a 1:26.099. Norris beats that by nearly half a second. Good stuff but plenty of drivers left to go. Lawson fourth, Alonso fifth. Russell struggling in the middle sector on intermediates.
Tsunoda splits the McLarens!
10 minutes, 10 drivers and one man on pole.
“It’s just the car hits the wall it needs to be straight red. I don’t understand why they need to wait 30, 40 seconds. Honestly, I’ll let it go. It’s so stupid anyway to talk about – it’s ridiculous.”
“I think if it keeps raining like this we should just stay out,” he says.
…and he got to choose the track and the conditions, he would probably pick “Interlagos” and “raining”. Still, back there can be a very tricky place to be in tough conditions with very low visibility.
Of course, Norris might end up starting in 10th anyway. But let’s wait and see.
“That must have felt excruciating for Lewis Hamilton exiting in Q1 for the second time in three races. Hamilton is rated as one of the greatest wet weather drivers in history. He called the car ‘undriveable’ afterwards but Russell managed to go 2sec quicker in the same car/conditions.”
Understandable. Verstappen didn’t seem to be improving but that was probably because he had to back off because of Stroll’s crash in any case. Stroll, despite that crash, has made it through to Q3 but will take no further part in it. I don’t think the repair job on the Aston Martin is as big as Ferrari’s.
pic.twitter.com/MTUemFWjXS
This could be big for the championship!
Stroll cannot get going again! Verstappen is out!
12th place and he will start the race in 17th! Norris is into the top 10.
But he doesn’t improve. We have double waved yellows as Lance Stroll has gone off… Verstappen is in 11th. If this is red flagged now then he will be out… no signs of a red flag yet though…
Both Red Bulls in the drop zone, in fact…
Norris goes fastest!
1.2sec off Piastri’s pace. Piastri’s lap was set on his second lap on intermediates. Albon can’t beat Norris’s time, nor can Tsunoda. That is good news for Norris. Alonso goes fastest of anyone, beating Piastri by 0.144sec. Bottas into sixth. He’s driving well at the moment.
Two minutes remain…
He is improving already on his previous time as he heads into turn four. A couple of tenths up on Sainz who is the 10th place benchmark. This looks fairly tidy and steady. The rain does not appear to have worsened, so I think everyone is likely to be improving here.
A very important few laps for him here. Conflicting reports from the teams on whether the rain will intensify or ease through the session.
Lando heads the queue 🚥Restart coming up#F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/sovF0vxmMn
Good, that should ease Norris’s worries slightly. He still needs to put the lap in, though. He has not exactly lit up the time screens in these conditions. Unlike his team-mate who was the first to go out on intermediates.
The longer the delay the closer the heavier the rain gets and then the harder it will be for him to improve. Sainz’s Ferrari is already out of the barriers but that will be a significant rebuild job at the back of the car before this afternoon’s race. I am going to say it is going to be doubtful if we start as scheduled.
A hefty hit and a huge repair job for Ferrari with the race only hours away#F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/q56IZNPXu9
Sainz gets to the end of turn one, puts the pedal down slightly and loses the rear end and goes sideways into the barriers.
Another Red Flag! This time it’s Carlos Sainz into the barriers and thankfully the Ferrari driver says he’s ok 📻 pic.twitter.com/1QAdZbGqHn
Five minutes and 51 seconds left on the clock which means there is time for those in the drop zone to get out again and improve. They are: Norris, Gasly, Albon, Tsunoda and Ocon.
Of course if the rain gets heavier then they might not be able to improve…
Sainz has stopped on track it seems. Russell goes second fastest. Sainz is in the walls in fact and that is surely going to be a red flag!
Indeed it is…
He is now 2.6sec faster than Verstappen…
Norris is about to begin his first flying lap on the intermediate tyres. He has struggled on the full wets so let’s keep an eye on this times.
Can’t think many will stay out on the wets now, if any. Gasly, Lawson, Albon, Ocon and Tsunoda the men in the drop zone. Yellow flags in sector two and it’s George Russell who has spun on the intermediates. He gets it going again, though.
It’s a Red Bull 1-2. Norris told to box for intermediates. His lap on the wets is not that great. Piastri goes fastest of anyone in the first sector. It’s right for intermediates.
Not faster than Verstappen’s best time in Q1. Leclerc then beats that but by less than a tenth. What is Piastri going to do on the intermediates?
His first sector is four-tenths down on Leclerc. He gets a bit of a twitch up the hill in the middle sector. Perez moves fastest by 0.549sec from Alonso.
Norris posts a time only good enough for P8, 1.4sec off Perez…
Piastri third with his first lap on the intermediates which suggests the time is right for intermediates. Or will be soon.
He is the only man to be on the green-striped tyres. That final sector is still a bit tricky as Carlos Sainz see-saws at his steering wheel at turn 14.
If not actually stopping. The session begins. Will we see intermediates soon? Probably at the end if no further rain falls.
All of these drivers are through to Q2.
Hamilton, Bearman, Colapinto, Hulkenberg, Zhou. That never looked likely for Hamilton. He’s normally good in the wet but he is not having a good time at the moment.
📻 “The car was undriveable” Lewis 😖#F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/1gxx4mNCfh
But is that enough?! Lawson knocks him down into 15th, knocking Hamilton out!
Zhou can knock Norris out but can he? He cannot. Verstappen crosses the line fastest and Norris gets through by the skin of his teeth!
Norris squeaks through in P15 😰#F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/llBeibjbrv
Bottas improves and puts Norris in 15th. And he is not going very well at all on this lap… this is going to be very close for Norris.
Can Hamilton get out of the bottom five! He does, pushing Norris into 16th! Is he improving? He is but not by enough unless he aces the final sector!
He is still in the drop zone. It was track limits for Verstappen that had his lap deleted. Hamilton stays 17th. Norris and Verstappen are in danger here, slightly. Colapinto is still 13th, somehow, which suggests the conditions have not improved much at all yet.
Hamilton is on the cusp in 15th. Tsunoda leads Leclerc, Ocon, Perez, Piastri and Alonso. Norris in 13th and Verstappen 10th.
Russell improves to second but gets very, very close to Lance Stroll as he crosses the line. Norris in 14th. verstappen has a lap time deleted because of the double yellows waved in sector three.
Two minutes remain.
Hamilton on a better lap. Mind you, his previous lap was 11 seconds off the pace so that is not too hard.
He crosses the line and goes 14th… could be worse. His team-mate Russell is in last and may well be invesigated for an unsafe rejoining of the track.
Six minutes left in the session. Piastri with a decent first sector time. I think drivers will struggle to improve their lap times as it stands. Might take a few more laps of a drier line to be cleared up. That said, Gasly has improved to go ninth so I am probably bang wrong yet again.
Albon, Zhou, Russell, Hamilton and Bottas in the drop zone.
The rain has intensified but McLaren told Norris that it would ease off. I think that is going to be the order of the day. Haas sent out Bearman on intermediates but they choose to wheel him back in to change for wets which is wise, I feel.
🟢 GREEN LIGHT 🟢And we’re back on track 🙌#F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/42w4bOmcYi
RED FLAG 🚩Franco Colapinto is into the barriers but thankfully the Williams driver says he’s ok over team radio 📻 pic.twitter.com/xtmUuw7Rbf
Bottas switches back to the wet tyres after going to the intermediates.
🔴 RED FLAG 🔴Colapinto slides into the barriers at Turn 3 💥Franco’s radioed to say he’s okay 👍#F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/6CBNemudTi
The Williams mechanics face a race against time to get that ready for the race, though further delays will help them, I guess. His car is recovered and we shouldn’t be too long before a resumption.
Franco Colapinto’s car is in the barriers… and that brings out the red flag as the rain gets heavier.
The rain is getting heavier in places 🌧️Esteban is P2, and Pierre P10 👊
Hamilton currently last… Russell has told his team to think about intermediates as Tsunoda goes fastest. Russell, Leclerc, Bearman, Hamilton and Bottas in the drop zone.
Not sure intermediates are the best choice here. Russell and Sainz get very close towards the end of the lap and nearly touch…
Ocon leads the way from Alonso, Tsunoda, Perez, Verstappen, Sainz and Norris. Hamilton currently in the drop zone.
That is the trickiest place so far with three drivers coming a cropper there. Bottas he been told to box for intermediate tyres apparently?
A lot of spray on the pit straight as Norris crosses the line with a 1:31.608, some 23 seconds or so slower than his sprint pole yesterday. Replays show Lawson manages to stay on the asphalt of the perimeter road after locking up before getting going again. Another yellow flag as Zhou seems to have stopped at the same place as Lawson.
A good lap from Ocon, 1.5sec ahead of Norris and at the top.
Liam Lawson has stopped on track at turn 13 and hasn’t moved. He may well be off the track and he finally gets moving. Not sure what happened there.
As you would expect. Alexander Albon is the man who leads them away to huge cheers from the beponchoed fans in the stands.
Let’s go, Quali is finally on! 👊 #BrazilGP 🇧🇷 #F1 pic.twitter.com/rPS5L1Fs0Z
I’m impressed. Well done to F1 and the FIA for being flexible and giving the best chance of action.
Pierre Gasly is told that the rain may intensify in 15 minutes.
It’s still very soggy here at Interlagos but we are ready to go qualifying! #F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/HlxjPdIKs6
I think we’re going to get tgis qualifying session going… and on time!
Little update – 20 minutes to the re-scheduled start of Quali… @SkySportsF1 pic.twitter.com/xxK3uoSLUs
It looks like the rain has eased somewhat, thankfully.
We still have 18 minutes until the scheduled start of qualifying, but I think that is an optimistic reading. We might just have to sit tight.
Not as bad as it was yesterday, though. The Aston Martin Safety Car followed by another support vehicle is currently out there. I would be surprised if we stick to the scheudled timings today but the reason the sessions have been moved is exactly for this reason.
Some big news overnight from the F1 paddock…
Qualifying for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix was postponed until Sunday by torrential rain at Interlagos, but an even bigger storm was brewing off the track with governing body the FIA understood to be investigating allegations by Red Bull that McLaren are among a number of rival teams illegally filling their tyres with water to improve their performance.
Read more from Tom Cary here.
It is hard to describe a 44-point advantage as precarious but with Verstappen’s grid penalty today there is a chance for Norris to take another chunk from it. I think McLaren would prefer it to be dry today, even though rain brings unpredictability. Norris is good in the rain but Verstappen is just, well, superb. It may well remove any advantage that the McLaren has over the Red Bull.
20 seconds in the Mexico City Grand Prix last weekend and more in Brazil this weekend. Yesterday he finished third on the road in the sprint race but later took a five-second time penalty that demoted him behind Charles Leclerc, which meant he lost three points to Lando Norris in the standings.
Here is why:
Will Verstappen be penalised for attempted overtake on Piastri? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/P2WPS3yncA
Oh, and don’t forget that he takes a five-place grid penalty for today’s race. So if he qualifies fastest, he will start sixth.
#F1 #BBCF1 #BRAZILGP SUNDAY: It’s 6.25am at a wet Interlagos after a night of periodic light rain. More of this is now spreading south across the circuit, with a gradual uptick in rainfall amounts/rates & heavier bursts at times this morning. Air temp currently 19.8C & track 20C
This is the third race in an Austin-Mexico City-Sao Paulo triple-header and it is ending with its most intense day. At least there’s two weekends with no racing until we return in Qatar.
Good morning, it’s a bit early 🙃#BrazilGP 🇧🇷 #F1 pic.twitter.com/NOQYVxBGQu
All of these drivers scored points.
We are an hour away from qualifying starting and it looks damp with some rain about. Better than about 13 hours ago, mind you. This is from Autosport’s Jon Noble.
Here is how the Interlagos track looks this morning. Still wet but nowhere near as bad as yesterday. #F1. #BrazilHP. pic.twitter.com/0RYSsb0e60
Qualifying: 10.30am GMTSao Paulo GP: 3.30pm
Whether or not these start on time remains to be seen…
This is a little earlier than we would have expected to be kicking off our Sunday Formula One blog, but nevertheless welcome to our coverage for today’s qualifying and indeed the race at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix at Interlagos, Brazil.
In case you missed it, yesterday’s qualifying was a wash-out. After McLaren had wrapped up a slightly dicey 1-2 in the sprint race earlier in the day the heavens opened in dramatic fashion just an hour or so before qualifying was due to start. They eased a little but the rain did not stop and after a couple of hours of waiting around and ‘estimated’ start times being pushed back until the FIA looked at the track conditions, the weather forecast and decided to call it quits.
So here we are, with both qualifying and the race to get through on a day when there is rain forecast throughout the day, too. Can we do it? Well, fingers crossed. It would be a crying shame if we cannot.
A few points of order on the day. The delayed qualifying has been rescheduled to 7.30am local time (10.30am GMT) with the race pushed forward 90 minutes to 3.30pm GMT. The reason that the FIA gave for that is that, clearly, with more rain around they wanted to ensure the longest possible window for the race – of any kind, I guess, not necessarily the whole thing – to take place. That seems sensible to me, as yesterday’s approach was.
This is not the first time that qualifying has taken place on a Sunday, though. Looking at the current weather forecast for Interlagos on the Met Office, there is at least a 70 per cent chance of rain every hour between now 7pm local tonight and, given the sun sets at 6.22pm that could mean a lot of waiting around again. The heaviest rain is expected at 2pm local time (90 minutes into the race) though with the way the weather is in this region, that is far from a guarantee. #
As ever, whatever happens we will be here to guide you through it all with qualifying up first. Fingers crossed we get that done without too much fuss and don’t have to consult the rule book to find out what session will be used to set the grid…
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