Qualifying recap
In a schedule completely revised due to bad weather, with the São Paulo GP qualifying postponed and the race moved up to 4:30 PM today, the battle for pole position brought surprises right from the start. Under challenging track conditions, with red flags being waved for the first time following Franco Colapinto’s crash against the barriers, Lewis Hamilton suffered another setback by failing to reach Q2, finishing in 16th place and describing his Mercedes as “cursed.” Norris came very close to elimination, a stark contrast to what happened in Q2.
However, this session also had its share of drama affecting the top teams, with two interruptions due to additional accidents: the first involving Carlos Sainz, who was subsequently eliminated, and the second involving Lance Stroll, which prevented Max Verstappen from improving his time and qualifying for Q3. Considering Verstappen’s five-place grid penalty for a power unit change, the reigning world champion will start from 17th. Another interruption occurred in Q3, this time due to Fernando Alonso hitting the barriers, but shortly after the session resumed, with three minutes left, a fifth and final stoppage occurred due to Alex Albon’s crash at the entrance of turn one. Lando Norris thus claimed pole position ahead of Russell and the surprising Tsunoda, while Charles Leclerc could only manage sixth place.
Top-3 drivers’ comments
Lando Norris (1st, McLaren): “Today was quite eventful, but I’m extremely happy because I struggled a lot at the beginning of qualifying and had to work hard, so I definitely wasn’t comfortable. Finishing on pole took a lot of effort throughout the qualifying session; I made several mistakes and had to improve, but I managed to do it. I’m surprised; I often find myself surprised lately, including by this pole. I managed to put in some good laps at the end, and it’s a great result for us. In these conditions, you’re always looking to find something extra, but you also see other drivers going off track, locking up, or damaging their cars, so it’s very easy for things to go wrong. You could end up in the wall or face situations that could eliminate you from the race. Taking risks wasn’t easy because it wasn’t guaranteed to pay off. Especially in Q1, I made some mistakes, so I had to adjust my approach, and I’m happy after all the challenges we faced. Now I’m looking ahead; I’ll have very fast drivers close by like George, who did a great lap, as well as Yuki, and it’s never simple in these conditions. You just have to adapt, but that’s not always the easiest thing to do. We’ll aim to have a great race, get off to a good start, and then see how to maximize our performance.”
George Russell (2nd, Mercedes): “I’m always happy to be back in São Paulo because I have fond memories here. Yesterday was tough waiting for such a long time, and it was crazy to arrive at the track at 6 AM and see all the fans lining up. I’m very pleased with this 2nd place. It reminds me a bit of karting days, waking up early to get suited up and drive. I think we should reconsider the format because qualifying on Sunday morning might be the right approach. That said, it was a fantastic session, and we’ll see what we can do in the race.”
Yuki Tsunoda (3rd, Racing Bulls): “I had a lot of fun, but it was also challenging. I think we had a good pace right from the start, then I made a couple of mistakes, but I also had a bit of luck. Overall, as a team, I believe we did a great job. This track is one of the most complicated; once you gain more confidence and try to push harder, you risk having a big accident. There were some close calls for everyone today, but it’s one of those tracks where it feels amazing to nail a lap. I felt a bit worse yesterday, but today the car had good pace in the rain, which is a solid start. With Liam in 4th, we’ll try to close the gap to the Aston Martins, and this is the moment we need to capitalize on opportunities. We’ll aim to score as many points as possible.”
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