2023-11-03 19:36:17
Cloudy. Dry. Air +30…28С, highway +40…35С
In 2023, the stage in Sao Paulo was held in a format with a Saturday sprint – this was the sixth and final sprint. As always, there was only one training session before qualifying – and the protocol in it was headed by Carlos Sainz, tenth ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc, who showed the second time. But Red Bull Racing and Mercedes did not work on speed and did not even put on soft tires in the morning, feeling confident that they would not have problems during the weekend.
Pirelli brought a “medium” three trains to the stage – C2, C3 and C4 in the roles of Hard, Medium and Soft.
Qualifying was delayed by 15 minutes due to the consequences of an accident during practice for the local Porsche Cup. In Sao Paulo, the forecasted rains began, but by the beginning of the session in Interlagos it was dry.
In the first session Due to the high risk of an approaching thunderstorm, the riders rushed to the track, choosing Soft. Traffic got in the way for many. In the first attempt, Norris showed the best time, and Verstappen was third and complained regarding the sway of the car.
Returning to the pits, Gasly almost collided with Russell’s almost stopped car – the stewards will review this incident following the session.
The condition of the track improved with each lap. In the second attempt, Russell was the fastest. The results of twenty riders fit into nine tenths. Tsunoda, Ricciardo, Bottas, Sargent and Zhou dropped out of further competition.
In the second session everyone went to Soft once more. Many chose run-in tires for the first attempt, leaving new ones for the second – Verstappen topped the protocol with a lap of 1:10.162.
In the second attempt, the results became even tighter – the top ten fit into 35 hundredths. Norris showed the best time, completing a lap in 1:10.021. Hulkenberg, Ocon, Gasly, Magnussen and Albon did not qualify for the final.
In the final Such a dark cloud approached the track that there was no doubt regarding its intentions, but the session began on a dry track. Everyone went to Soft once more.
Piastri went onto the grass at Turn 12, returning to the pits with no time.
There was no rain, but lightning flashed, thunder roared, and the race management stopped the session with red flags, deciding not to continue it – it became dark, and following a couple of minutes it began to pour.
By this time, Verstappen had managed to show the best time, completing a lap in 1:10.727.
Max Verstappen won qualifying in Sao Paulo, taking his 11th pole position of the season and 31st of his career. Along with him, Charles Leclerc will start from the front row in Sunday’s race, Stroll and Alonso will start the race from the second row, and Hamilton and Russell will start the race from the third row.
On Saturday we will have another qualification – for the sprint, and the sprint itself.
Qualification results
Driver Team 1 session 2 session 3 session M Time Kr M Time Kr M Time Kr 1. M. Verstappen Red Bull 2 1:10.436 9 2 1:10.162 6
1
1:10.727
3
2. Sh. Leclerc Ferrari 3 1:10.472 6 7 1:10.303 9
2
1:11.021
3
3. L. Stroll Aston Martin 6 1:10.551 7 10 1:10.375 6
3
1:11.344
3
4. F.Alonso Aston Martin 7 1:10.557 9 4 1:10.237 6
4
1:11.387
3
5. L. Hamilton Mercedes 9 1:10.604 9 6 1:10.266 9
5
1:11.469
3
6. D.Russell Mercedes 1 1:10.340 9 8 1:10.316 9
6
1:11.590
3
7. L. Norris McLaren 11 1:10.623 4 1 1:10.021 6
7
1:11.987
3
8. K. Sainz Ferrari 12 1:10.624 9 5 1:10.254 8
8
1:11.989
3
9. C. Perez Red Bull 13 1:10.668 8 3 1:10.219 6
9
1:12.321
3
10. O. Piastri McLaren 5 1:10.519 6 9 1:10.330 7
10
–
2
11. N. Hulkenberg Haas 4 1:10.475 9
11
1:10.547
6
12. E.Okon Alpine 14 1:10.763 9
12
1:10.562
6
13. P. Gasli Alpine 15 1:10.793 8
13
1:10.567
6
14. K.Magnussen Haas 8 1:10.602 9
14
1:10.723
6
15. A. Elbon Williams 10 1:10.621 9
15
1:10.840
6
16. Yu. Tsunoda AlphaTauri
16
1:10.837
9
17. D.Riccardo AlphaTauri
17
1:10.843
6
18. V. Bottas Alfa Romeo
18
1:10.955
9
19. L.Sargent Williams
19
1:11.035
9
20.G.Zhou Alfa Romeo
20
1:11.275
9
1699042953
#Verstappen #wins #qualifying #Sao #Paulo
