Max starts from back of the field in Sao Paulo: 'Unbelievable'

Published on 03 November 2024 by Misha van der Kroon

Max Verstappen fell victim to one of the many red flags in a rainy qualifying session in Sao Paulo, which stopped him of the chance to do a fast lap. The Dutchman qualified twelfth, but a grid penalty puts him back five places for the race, which starts at 16:30 Dutch time.

However, it remains to be seen what Max's starting position will actually be, because it is still questionable whether all the crashed cars will be repaired in time. Lando Norris managed to claim pole position, just ahead of George Russell. Yuki Tsunoda and Esteban Ocon will start the race, surprisingly, from the second row.

"A car hits the wall and is completely broken. It should be a red flag immediately. And they let it continue for 30 or 40 seconds, so everyone ahead can finish their lap. But everyone behind them has to lift and can't do a lap. It’s unbelievable," said a frustrated Max. "We are in the last garage, so we are going to be in the back anyway. The track and tyres got better and better. Our pace was good. The biggest problem was that the red flag was not waved immediately."

The postponed qualification starts on Sunday at 11:30 Dutch time, despite the fact that it has been raining in Sao Paulo for some time. Everyone is on full wets, the rain tyres with blue cheeks. Several drivers shoot off the track in the search for grip. With nine minutes left on the clock in Q1, Franco Colapinto ends up in the tyre stacks in turn three. The Argentinian steps out of his Williams unharmed, while the session is stopped.

The rain continues and the conditions on the track are extremely challenging. Knocked out in Q1 are Lewis Hamilton, Oliver Bearman, Franco Colapinto, Nico Hulkenberg and Zhou Guanyu. In the last minute, Max sets the fastest time on the clock (1:28.522), half a second faster than Alex Albon's Williams.

In Q2, Max again sets the fastest time on the full wets, a 1:27.771, until Oscar Piastri goes faster on intermediates (1:27.141). Everybody switches to intermediates. With six minutes to go, the red flag is waved again, after Carlos Sainz goes off in turn two. He hits the wall hard and has quite some damage to his Ferrari.

 Not long after the track is cleared again, the next driver ends up in the tyre stacks. This time, it's Lance Stroll and the red flag comes out again. That immediately means the end of Q2. Lando Norris sets the fastest time in Q2 (1:24.844). Both Red Bulls were unable to improve their times and are knocked out in Q2 with a twelfth and thirteenth place. Due to a five-place grid penalty for an engine change, Max will start the race later in the day from the seventeenth place on the grid. The other drivers knocked out in Q2 are Valtteri Bottas, Carlos Sainz and Pierre Gasly.

Q3 has barely started, or the red flag is waved again. Fernando Alonso has parked his Aston Martin in the wall in turn eleven with seven minutes to go. The marshals get into action and shortly after the session is resumed. But things go wrong again when, with three and a half minutes to go, Albon goes off while braking for the first corner and hits the wall hard. The Williams suffers a lot of damage.

At the end of the qualifying session, Norris in his McLaren is the fastest (1:23.405) ahead of George Russell (Mercedes). Surprisingly, Yuki Tsunoda (RB) and Esteban Ocon (Alpine) are on the second starting row. The third row is for the second RB of Liam Lawson and Charles Leclerc (Ferrari).

Contest GP Brazil: win a by Max Verstappen signed Red Bull Racing cap!

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