Brazil GP qualifying chaos as 'night' falls unexpectedly and session ended early

03 November 2023 , 19:12

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A storm appeared at Interlagos as the weather played a part in qualifying (Image: F1 TV)

Max Verstappen set the fastest time of Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying moments before a storm swept across the Interlagos track.

The clouds were so dark by the end of Q3 that Fernando Alonso said it was like "night". And he wasn't wrong – all the light had disappeared as the winds picked up, blowing the heavy rain onto the track and making it impossible for anyone to improve their times in Q3.

Charles Leclerc managed to join Verstappen on the front row before the downpours came. And Lance Stroll put to bed his terrible qualifying form to outqualify Alonso as Aston Martin locked out the second row.

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.

Rain was in the air throughout the session with the threat of downpours ever-present. But despite reports of a few drops of rain at different part of the Interlagos circuit, no notable rain appeared in a way that caused any issues for the drivers – until Q3.

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Several big stars cut things fine in Q1 but managed to survive nonetheless. Instead, Daniel Ricciardo was the biggest casualty of the first part of the session as he managed to go only 17th fastest, one place behind team-mate Yuki Tsunoda who cursed Hamilton's name over the radio, apparently blaming him for something out on 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

Daniel Moxon