After the unbearable comedy on Saturday, qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix was rescheduled today, with Lando Norris taking pole position.
In Q1, which was postponed to the next day, the drivers were greeted by almost identical conditions to the previous one. Accordingly, the first stage presented a cautious testing of the field, with numerous slides and accidents. Franco Collapinto was the first to fall victim to this fate, sliding into the wall, triggering a brief red-flag period. These conditions were best interpreted by Max Verstappen, Alexander Albon, and George Russell, while ultimately, in addition to the aforementioned Collapinto, Lewis Hamilton, Oliver Bearman, Nico Hülkenberg, and Zhou Guanyu also retired.
We were barely halfway through Q2 when Carlos Sainz, mimicking Franco Colapinto, put the Ferrari into the wall almost exactly where his Argentinian colleague had been. Another red flag followed… At this point, Oscar Piastri, George Russell, and Lance Stroll were leading, but it was clear that with the introduction of the intermediates, this would not be the final order. Shortly after, Stroll's retirement led to an avalanche of red flags following red flags. Along with him, Valtteri Bottas, the two Red Bulls, Carlos Sainz, and Pierre Gasly also had to retire, as this stage was not restarted despite the time remaining. All of this suited McLaren, especially Norris, very well…
Q3 turned into total chaos, first Alonso crashed, then Albon broke the Williams, and finally only seven drivers remained in the top 10. In the last few clear minutes of qualifying, we saw continuous improvements, with Lando Norris, George Russell, and Yuki Tsunoda being the fastest.
