Red Bull's on top yet again ahead of Sunday's GP, but first we've got a sprint action-packed Saturday.
Luke Smith, Madeline Coleman and more
November 4, 2023 at 10:36 AM EDT
(Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
Verstappen takes pole at Interlagos
Max Verstappen secured pole position for Sunday’s São Paulo Grand Prix after dark clouds rolled in and rain ended Q3. Here’s what you need to know:
- Aston Martin played its cards right for Q3 as Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso’s early flying laps led to them locking out the second row. Friday marked the first time Stroll made Q3 since Belgium.
- McLaren massively missed out in Q3 despite both drivers advancing. Despite being quick early on, Piastri slid into the grass during his Q3 lap.
- AlphaTauri faces a setback after both Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda were narrowly knocked out in Q1. The Faenza-based crew is 12 points behind Williams for P7 in the constructors’ standing.
- These results aren't final: The stewards are looking into a few instances of alleged impeding at the exit of the pit lane that could result in penalties.
And that's a wrap on Friday in São Paulo
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Tomorrow's schedule
Remember that this is a sprint weekend (the sixth and final one of the year). Which means tomorrow starts at 10 a.m. ET (2 p.m. GMT) with the sprint shootout. That sets the order for the sprint itself, which starts at 2:30 p.m. (6:30 p.m. GMT) and runs 24 laps.
Woof
When it comes to wild weather, Interlagos does not mess around. Tomorrow and Sunday should be dry, however, if a bit cloudy.
“The sky was black.”
Max Verstappen has talked about his pole lap in the post-qualifying press conference, and like Stroll, he struggled massively at the end of the session in the conditions as the rain approached.
“The sky was black,” Verstappen said. “I thought, if that rain hits, it’s going to be a lot…
“The first sector felt alright, and the rest of the lap felt shocking. The wind increased a lot and it changed direction to a tailwind in the middle sector. The car was sliding all over the place, I was shouting on the radio, what the hell happened, we were nowhere.
“I’ve never experienced something like that.”
Bad lap, good result
(Clive Mason - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)
Third on the grid is a great result for Lance Stroll, but he’s actually revealed his final lap in qualifying wasn’t good at all.
“The car was feeling good throughout the session,” Stroll said. “Q3 was really tricky. My lap was pretty bad, but I think conditions changed a lot. In the end, good enough for a top three which is a great result.”
The wind and low grip meant it was definitely a matter of getting a time in when possible. Even a scruffy lap like Stroll’s would’ve been in better conditions than the car behind, the McLarens paying a big price for leaving their lap so late.
For Stroll, this is an important chance to build some momentum after his recent struggles. “It’s been tricky, the last couple of weekends,” Stroll said. “We had a good race in Austin, but then a few days later in Mexico, really tough weekend. Today was a great day.”
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Gasly, Ocon and Pérez summoned
For impeding at the pit exit.
A caveat
As a reminder, this grid is for Sunday's grand prix because it is a race weekend. There is an investigation ongoing, however: Pierre Gasly and George Russell have been summoned by the stewards for allegedly impeding at the exit of pit lane. Here's what the race director event notes had to say about this issue ahead of the weekend.
It is *pouring* now
To the point where teams have been allowed to shut their garage doors. Presumably somebody's looking for huge towels to lay down and keep water from sneaking in.
Sunday's starting grid
Here are provisional results from today's rain-curtailed quali:
OK, qualifying is in fact over
Red flag due to crazy weather rolling in. Max Verstappen takes pole, Leclerc P2, and a surely very chuffed Lance Stroll in P3.
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Is qualifying ... over?
Those clouds look totally apocalyptic, and everyone but Piastri has set a time. Everyone's in the pits now.
"It felt like it was raining, but there's no rain around," Leclerc said. "This is super weird."
Four minutes on the clock with Verstappen on top.
Stroll in third
Wow. If the rain comes, that's a mighty qualifying result for Lance Stroll in third place. Will anyone get another lap in?
Zoinks
That's a nasty looking sky.
Time to get an early lap in
Timing is going to be everything as the rain approaches. We saw Kevin Magnussen get a shock pole last year when he got a lap in early just before the rain came down, and prevented others from setting a quicker lap. Could we see another shock here?
Ricciardo: AlphaTauri "a lot faster" than Q1 exit showed
Daniel Ricciardo has been talking to F1 TV after his Q1 exit at Interlagos, explaining he had a messy final lap in qualifying that led to his exit. "We were definitely a lot faster than the overall time showed," Ricciardo said. "Just that last lap, I nearly had a spin in Turn 2. I came in a bit hot into Turn 1, probably didn't get the tires in the right spot for the start of the lap. We already lost a chunk in the first sector, and little bits and pieces through the lap. I’ll have a look.
"(It's) frustrating because we were definitely faster than that. Just a few things didn’t quite work out. I went in a bit deep in Turn 1. That’s where the lap started to spiral a little bit."
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Drivers ready to rush out
AccuWeather
It's looking awfully stormy, so nobody wants to wait to set a time.
What to make of Q2
Again, a fairly standard set of drivers out in Q2. Perhaps the most surprising duo to make it through are Stroll and Alonso for Aston Martin. That's the first time Lance Stroll has made Q3 since Spa in July, and the first time he's avoided a Q1 knockout since Zandvoort. The Aston Martin car is working a bit better at Interlagos than over the past couple of weekends.
5 minutes before Q3 kicks off
If you need to hit the head, now's the time to go. Q3 starts at 3 minutes past the hour.
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