Brazil GP: Magnussen has first F1 pole amid red flag and rain
Kevin Magnussen took F1 Brazil GP pole for the sprint race from Max Verstappen and George Russell after red flag and rain.
Q1:
The first part in F1 Brazil GP qualifying at Interlagos, it was a intermediate start after rain between FP1 and qualifying in the sprint weekend. But with no rain in the air, drivers started to switch to slick compound in a gamble mode.
There twitchy moments for several in tricky conditions as Haas’ Kevin Magnussen had his lap deleted. AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly was the first to switch to the soft compound with others following suit as the lap times started to lower down.
It was late improvements for many as Ferrari just managed to make it through to Q2 finishing 12th and 14th. McLaren’s Lando Norris was the fastest after all the hectic running with a 1m13.106s lap from Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Alpine’s Fernando Alonso.
The bottom half saw Williams’ Nicholas Latifi (1m15.095s) just miss out in 16th from the Alfa Romeo pair of Zhou Guanyu (1m15.197s) & Valtteri Bottas (1m15.486s), while AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda (1m16.264s) was 19th and Haa’s Mick Schumacher (1m16.361s) 20th.
Q2:
It was dry running in second part of F1 Brazil GP qualifying but some gambled on old sets from Q1 for their first run where Mercedes were the late ones to switch. They got the lap in at the right time as it started raining towards the business end.
Despite that, lap times continued to improve. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen set the pace with a 1m10.881s lap where he led Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc in the Top 3. The bottom half was decided just before the chequered flag fell.
Williams’ Alexander Albon (1m11.631s) lost it by 0.044s after he selected to pit with AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly (1m11.675s) in 12th after replays showed him racing Alpine’s Fernando Alonso – where the latter made it in the Top 10.
Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel (1m11.678s) was 13th as replays showed an off moment at Turn 1 which hampered his attempt with teammate Lance Stroll (1m12.210s) 15th behind McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo (1m12.140s).
Q3:
It was dark to start with in final part of F1 Brazil GP qualifying where Leclerc was on the intermediate tyres to soft compound for rest of the nine drivers. The Monegasque didn’t pit and continued on to set a lap but eventually pitted to switch to slicks.
There was more misery for Ferrari as a red flag stalled their progress after Mercedes’ George Russell beached himself in the gravel. He went off and while trying to save himself he did a donut which got him beached in the gravel and session over for him.
It was Haas’ Magnussen on provisional pole with a 1m11.674s lap from Red Bull’s Verstappen and Russell in the Top 3. McLaren’s Norris was fourth from Sainz, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon & Alonso, Hamilton, Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and Leclerc in the Top 10.
With rain falling, Perez ventured out on the intermediate but eventually pitted without setting a lap, while the likes of Leclerc and Verstappen were already out of the car. Hamilton ventured out as well but pitted without setting a lap.
That secured first-ever pole for Magnussen and Haas in F1 where he is due to start the Staurday’s sprint race in first place alongside 2022 champion Verstappen (1m11.877s). Despite the one causing the red flag, Russell (1m12.059s) was third from Norris (1m12.263s) and Sainz (1m12.357s) in the Top 5.
The Spaniard will serve his penalty in the Sunday’s grand prix, as Ocon (1m12.425s) was sixth from Alonso (1m12.504s), Hamilton (1m12.611s), Perez (1m15.601s) and Leclerc (8m43.744s) in the Top 10.
