Event: Brazilian Grand Prix
Track: Autodromo Interlagos
Weather: wet 20.4°C
Tarmac: wet 34.4°C
Humidity: 93%
Wind: 1.8 km/h South
Lando Norris scored the 8th F1 pole position of his career during the 2024 Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying session today. The McLaren driver will start from P1 for the second time in Sao Paulo. It was the 163th pole for McLaren.
2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix: A Rollercoaster Qualifying Session
Round 21 of the 2024 Formula 1 season saw an unforgettable and chaotic qualifying session at Interlagos, as heavy rain tested the drivers' mettle and delivered surprising outcomes.
Q1: Early Exits and Shocks
The wet conditions at the start of Q1 set the stage for a challenging session, with all cars venturing out on full wet tyres. The treacherous track quickly revealed its difficulties, as Franco Colapinto lost control exiting Turn 3, bringing out the first red flag. Despite recovering and continuing on their laps, multiple drivers struggled for grip.
Lewis Hamilton’s early elimination was the headline shock of Q1. The Mercedes veteran, a master in wet weather, couldn't find pace and slid down to 16th place. Joining him in an early exit were rookies Oliver Bearman (17th) and Franco Colapinto (18th), Nico Hülkenberg (19th), and Zhou Guanyu (20th). Meanwhile, Yuki Tsunoda and Charles Leclerc set impressive early times to lead the pack, showcasing their adaptability.
Q2: High Stakes and High Drama
The rain eased slightly as Q2 began, prompting some drivers to switch to intermediate tyres. Oscar Piastri gambled early on inters, finding significant pace and momentarily topping the timesheets. However, as the session progressed, chaos ensued when Carlos Sainz lost control and crashed heavily into the barriers, bringing out another red flag. This incident prematurely ended the session with just under a minute remaining, trapping several top contenders in the drop zone.
Notably, Max Verstappen—dealing with a five-place grid penalty for a new ICE—qualified 12th, while his teammate Sergio Perez ended up 13th. Valtteri Bottas (11th), Carlos Sainz (14th), and Pierre Gasly (15th) also failed to progress, resulting in a surprising grid lineup for the race.
Q3: Norris Triumphs Amid Carnage
Q3 resumed with only nine cars after Lance Stroll's crash in Q2 prevented him from participating. With intermediate tyres proving essential, drivers had to balance aggression with caution. Lando Norris delivered an inspired performance for McLaren, mastering the slippery conditions to claim his fifth pole position in the last seven races. George Russell secured second in a challenging Mercedes, while Yuki Tsunoda’s consistency earned him a stellar third-place start, just ahead of Alpine's Esteban Ocon.
Drama continued as Alex Albon’s high-speed crash brought out another red flag with just over three minutes left. Williams mechanics faced a daunting task repairing his car ahead of the race. Despite the disruptions, Norris managed to improve his time on his final attempt, ensuring pole position by a clear margin.
The Final Grid
The starting grid for the 2024 Sao Paulo GP promises unpredictability, with Norris on pole followed by Russell and Tsunoda. Ocon and Liam Lawson complete the top five, setting the stage for an intense race. Verstappen’s penalty will drop him further down the order, adding to the intrigue of whether he can fight his way back through the pack in challenging conditions.
With wet weather expected for the race, fans can anticipate more excitement and potential upsets at Interlagos. Lando Norris’s pole marks a significant momentum shift in the championship as he closes in on Max Verstappen, adding further tension to the title battle. All eyes now turn to the race, where rain and resilience will decide the outcome.
The Williams #23 of Alex Albon will not be fixed on time for the race.
Quickest Sector Times
The quickest sector times during Q3 of qualifying where:
- 21.386 sec. by Estban Ocon with the Alpine A524 #31
- 43.807 sec. by Lando Norris with the McLaren MCL38 #4
- 17.959 sec. by Lando Norris with the McLaren MCL38 #4
Last year the pole was scored by Max Verstappen in the Red Bull with a lap time of 1:10.7276 min also in wet conditions.
Qualifying Times 2024 Brazilian GP
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Laps |
| 1 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:30,944 | 1:24,844 | 1:23,405 | 33 |
| 2 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:29,121 | 1:26,307 | 1:23,578 | 29 |
| 3 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Racing Bulls | 1:29,172 | 1:26,464 | 1:24,111 | 30 |
| 4 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 1:29,171 | 1:26,206 | 1:24,475 | 31 |
| 5 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | 1:30,758 | 1:25,654 | 1:24,484 | 30 |
| 6 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:29,839 | 1:26,097 | 1:24,525 | 29 |
| 7 | 23 | Alex Albon | Williams | 1:29,072 | 1:25,889 | 1:24,657 | 28 |
| 8 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:30,114 | 1:25,179 | 1:24,686 | 28 |
| 9 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:30,207 | 1:25,035 | 1:28,998 | 21 |
| 10 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 1:30,580 | 1:26,334 | no time | 19 |
| 11 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Sauber | 1:30,633 | 1:26,472 | 21 | |
| 12 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:28,522 | 1:27,771 | 19 | |
| 13 | 11 | Sergio Pérez | Red Bull | 1:30,035 | 1:28,158 | 18 | |
| 14 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 1:30,303 | 1:29,406 | 17 | |
| 15 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:29,420 | 1:29,614 | 21 | |
| 16 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:31,150 | 11 | ||
| 17 | 50 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | 1:31,229 | 11 | ||
| 18 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Williams | 1:31,270 | 5 | ||
| 19 | 27 | Nico Hülkenberg | Haas | 1:31,623 | 12 | ||
| 20 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Sauber | 1:32,263 | 12 |
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One F1 fan comment on “F1 Qualifying Results & Report 2024 Brazilian Grand Prix”
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What a qualifying, although race control was unnecessarily slow (again) with red-flagging for the Sainz & Stroll incidents, especially the latter.
Simply an increasing likelihood of getting T-boned.
Overall, a very mixed-up starting order for the race.
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