Rainclouds hovered ominously close to the Interlagos track as the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc challenged Max Verstappen for pole position in Sao Paulo
Just before a storm swept across the Interlagos track, Max Verstappen set the fastest time in the qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix.
By the end of Q3, Fernando Alonso had said it felt like “night” because of how dark the clouds had become. He wasn’t mistaken either; as the winds increased, the light vanished and the track was inundated with heavy rain, rendering it unfeasible for anyone to beat their Q3 times.
Before the rain started, Charles Leclerc was able to move up to the front row and join Verstappen. And while Aston Martin locked out the second row, Lance Stroll overcame his dismal qualifying performance to outqualify Alonso.
Lewis Hamilton beat George Russell to fifth place on the grid with his Mercedes team-mate one place behind. And all of the drivers were blown away by how quickly the weather had rolled in and put an abrupt end to the session.
The possibility of downpours was constant throughout the session, and rain was in the forecast. However, until Q3, no noteworthy rain was reported in a way that would have posed a risk to drivers, despite reports of a few drops falling at various locations around the Interlagos circuit.
A number of well-known celebrities fared well in the first quarter but still made it through. Rather, Yuki Tsunoda, a teammate, was the biggest loser of the first part of the session as Daniel Ricciardo only managed to finish one place behind and cursed Hamilton’s name over the radio, seemingly blaming him for something off-track.
It wasn’t clear why the seven-time world champion had infuriated Tsunoda, but Mercedes team-mate Russell was definitely in the stewards’ bad books. He didn’t pull to the left to allow rivals through at the pit exit, as is now required of drivers, and faces a post-session penalty for impeding Pierre Gasly.
Alex Albon continued his good qualifying form by getting out of Q1 comfortably but had his best Q2 lap deleted and so was condemned to 15th on the grid. The Haas and Alpine cars were the others to end their evenings at that point as Stroll survived on the cusp of the elimination zone, ending his streak of wretched qualifying results.
And he made it even better by not only reaching Q3, but going third quickest before the storm fully began. Team-mate Alonso joins him on the second row for Sunday’s race in a surprisingly strong result for Aston Martin as their decision to get their laps done early in Q3 paid off.
From the moment Oscar Piastri span at the last corner it became clear the weather was not going to allow anyone to improve their times. And the clouds were so dark that visibility was just as much of an issue as the rain, forcing race control to red flag the session.
Full 2023 Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying result.
1..Max Verstappen – Red Bull
2..Charles Leclerc – Ferrari
3..Lance Stroll – Aston Martin
4..Fernando Alonso – Aston Martin
5..Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes
6..George Russell – Mercedes
7..Lando Norris – McLaren
8..Carlos Sainz – Ferrari
9..Sergio Perez – Red Bull
10.Oscar Piastri – McLaren
11.Nico Hulkenberg – Haas
12.Esteban Ocon – Alpine
13.Pierre Gasly – Alpine
14.Kevin Magnussen – Haas
15.Alex Albon – Williams
16.Yuki Tsunoda – AlphaTauri
17.Daniel Ricciardo – AlphaTauri
18.Valtteri Bottas – Alfa Romeo
19.Logan Sargeant – Williams
20.Zhou Guanyu – Alfa Romeo