Brazil - Qualifying

Before we discuss the unusual qualifying session, let me remind you of a penalty that can be very consequential for both championship standings. Before the Brazilian Grand Prix Verstappen decided to take a new power unit, his sixth this season, once again going over the limit, currently standing at four. Taking a fifth power unit results in a 10-place grid penalty for the next race, but the penalty is halved for any subsequent breach. This means that Verstappen received a 5-place grid penalty and will begin the race at best in P6

After an exhilarating race that ended with Verstappen getting a second penalty, and falling from the sprint podium, the scene was set for a qualifying session to remember, especially given the torrential rain that turned the circuit into a shallow pond. The session was first pushed back and then moved to Sunday morning, to ensure the safety of the drivers. Still, the Sunday qualifying was not held on a dry or even drying track. As the cars drove out onto the circuit, rain steadily fell from the sky, rapidly changing the conditions on the track.

With the weather conditions ever deteriorating, it was impossible to tell how much running the drivers would get in the qualifying session, so they all lined up in the pit lane as quickly as they could. As soon as they drove onto the track, a futile fight against them began. Times were far from great and yellow flags waved all over the circuit as various drivers went wide, spun, and slid on the new tarmac. The critical moment came about halfway through the session when Franco Colapinto found the wall. He wasn't harmed in the crash, but a red flag had to be brought out and the session was promptly paused. 

Before the drivers were allowed back on track, some of them quietly mentioned exchanging the wet tires for intermediates but the rain intensified during the short break and, in the end, all kept their wets. The track was improving with every minute so not even those sitting at the very top of the leaderboard could safely stay in the pitlane. On top of that, the final minutes of Q1 also looked like they could be of great consequence for the championship as both Verstappen and Norris found their lap times deleted, ending up at P12 and P14, respectively. While Verstappen was relatively safe from elimination, the same couldn't be said for Norris, who found himself temporarily knocked down to the elimination zone by Hamilton. At the time he was on a timed attempt, but with a yellow first sector, it didn't look too promising. In the end, he managed to get a time good enough to, somewhat ironically, save himself while pushing Hamilton into the bottom five. Bearman, Colapinto, Hulkenberg, and Zhou were also eliminated. 

The Ferraris were the first cars to come onto the track for Q2, with others following very closely behind. While most drivers went out on full wets, McLaren decided on a risky strategy of sending Piastri out on inters. After he managed a decent lap, other drivers also peeled into the pits for a quick change of compound. But just because Piastri could make it work didn't mean that the track was even remotely close to dry. Driving on it was still dangerous, a fact that the drivers were reminded of a Carlos Sainz found the barrier and brought out the second red flag of the day. The session was paused and, with another big raincloud looming in the distance, his crash put pressure on Norris who, once again, found himself in the elimination zone.

The cars were allowed back onto the track for the last five minutes of Q2, and this time they all came out on intermediate tires. Improvement was seen all over the track and stopped only when we got our third red flag of the session, this one caused by Lance Stroll. Since only 46 seconds were left on the clock when the session was stopped, the decision was made that it would not be resumed. This was particularly bad news for the two Red Bulls, both of whom were in the elimination zone and trying to improve their times as the red flag was brought out. Verstappen finished 12th, which meant that, with his penalty, he will be starting the Grand Prix in P17. Bottas, Gasly, and Sainz made up the rest of the elimination zone. 

With heavier rain forecasted to fall a few minutes into the session, the drivers were once again very eager to get out on track. The McLarens were the first to do so and set times good enough to find themselves in first and third as another big development took place. Alonso lost control of his car and found the wall, bringing out a fourth red flag of the day. The remaining eight cars were allowed back on track but only for a few minutes. As the clock showed 3 minutes and 30 seconds until the end of the session, Albon crashed, significantly damaging his car. The moment brought out a fifth red flag. 

The session was resumed one last time with only seven cars remaining on track. The drivers had just enough time for two flying laps and they all took great advantage of every corner. In the end, it was Norris who took the pole with Russel in second, and the two VCARBS split by the Alpine of Ocon closed out the top five. 

Order of the grid:

1. Lando Norris

2. George Russel

3. Yuki Tsunoda

4. Esteban Ocon

5. Liam Lawson

6. Charles Leclerc

7. Alex Albon

8. Oscar Piastri

9. Fernando Alonso

10. Lance Stroll

11. Valtteri Bottas

12. Sergio Perez

13. Carlos Sainz

14. Pierre Gasly

15. Lewis Hamilton

16. Oliver Bearman

17. Max Verstappen

18. Franco Colapinto

19. Nico Hulkenberg

20. Zhou Guanyu