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Norris takes Sao Paulo pole in the rain after two red flags; Russell, told to abort his lap, drops to seventh
Norris set 1:27.470 in wet Q3 to beat George Russell by 0.204 seconds at Interlagos after two red flags. Mercedes told Russell to abort his last lap, and a five-place penalty drops him to seventh. The race starts at 2 pm local on Sunday.
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Lando Norris took pole position for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix on Saturday 7 November with a lap of 1:27.470 in wet, darkening conditions at Interlagos, beating George Russell by 0.204 seconds in a qualifying session stopped by two red flags. Kimi Antonelli was third, 0.625 seconds back, and a five-place grid penalty for Russell will promote Antonelli to the front row. The race starts at 2 pm local time on Sunday.
Q1: a red flag within three minutes
The circuit was already saturated when Q1 began, and the session was red-flagged less than three minutes in because of heavy rain. Antonelli and Isack Hadjar had complained that their race suits were soaked after short trips onto the track. After a long interruption, all 22 drivers ran on full wet tyres.
Norris led Q1 with a 1:30.939, and Russell's best was 1:32.441, a gap of about 1.5 seconds in conditions where lap times were changing minute to minute. Six drivers went out: Franco Colapinto, Pierre Gasly, Lance Stroll, Valtteri Bottas, Sergio Perez and Gabriel Bortoleto, who hit the barrier late and could not improve.
Q2: a second red flag and an empty garage
Q2 began with 15 cars, because Max Verstappen chose not to take part, as he expected a grid penalty. Charles Leclerc set a lap in the 1:29s before Liam Lawson switched to intermediates and took the top spot, at one stage 1.6 seconds clear of Oliver Bearman.
Arvid Lindblad was told to stop his car at Turn 5, ending his session early, and with less than a minute left Rafael Camara hit the barrier, which brought the second red flag. Oscar Piastri, who could not improve after the late stoppage, went out in Q2 for the second weekend in a row, along with Lewis Hamilton, Carlos Sainz and Verstappen, who set no time.
| Pos | Driver | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lando Norris (McLaren) | 1:27.470 | – |
| 2 | George Russell (Mercedes) | 1:27.674 | +0.204 |
| 3 | Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) | 1:28.095 | +0.625 |
| 4 | Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) | 1:28.289 | +0.819 |
| 5 | Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) | 1:28.321 | +0.851 |
| 6 | Nico Hulkenberg (Audi) | 1:28.668 | +1.198 |
| 7 | Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) | 1:28.763 | +1.293 |
| 8 | Oliver Bearman (Haas) | 1:29.831 | +2.361 |
| 9 | Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) | 1:30.311 | +2.841 |
| 10 | Alexander Albon (Williams) | 1:30.456 | +2.986 |
Q3: the lap Russell was told to abandon
Ten drivers went out on intermediate tyres, and the positions behind the top five show how thin the margins were. Nico Hulkenberg was sixth for Audi, 1.198 seconds off Norris, then Hadjar, Bearman, Alonso and Albon. Lewis Hamilton's Q2 time of 1:30.001 was quicker than the times of Alonso and Albon in Q3, but he was classified 11th because he went out in Q2, and Piastri was 12th. Conditions improved briefly early in the session, then the rain returned heavily, with more forecast and dark skies gathering.
Russell was on course for pole when Mercedes told him to abort his second lap, with Albon just ahead of him. The team expected another dry spell of about a minute, and the rain came instead. Russell said his lap was quicker than Norris's pole time, but it was never completed. "Pole was ours for the taking there," he said, and called it a misjudgement from the team collectively. He added that he got a bit held up by Albon, but that it would still have been good enough for pole.
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Antonelli said it was very slippery in Q1 and that in Q3 there was a lot more, and that he made two big mistakes during his lap that cost the team the chance of a better position.
Norris described it as a long day and a great qualifying, and said the plan had been to get two laps in at the beginning and not make any mistakes.
The classification is not the starting grid, and the FIA's report lists the penalties. Russell was given a five-place grid penalty, which takes him from second to seventh, and the order moves Antonelli up to second. Leclerc loses ten places. Lewis Hamilton starts from the back with a power-unit penalty, and Verstappen and Perez also start at the back, Verstappen with a substantial penalty. The reports give no reason for the Russell and Leclerc penalties.
Mercedes have more than the grid to think about. Antonelli beat Russell to the drivers' championship nearly a week before the Sao Paulo weekend, and the constructors' title is still open: the team needs three more points to overtake Ferrari, and Russell said the aim this weekend is to seal it. Antonelli would reach ten Grand Prix wins with a victory on Sunday, when the lights go out at Interlagos at 2 pm local time.
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Reyaansh Agarawal
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Reyaansh Agarawal contributes to Wirony, covering stories that are carefully reviewed and approved by the editorial team before publication. Wirony is committed to maintaining tran…
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