Lando Norris takes pole in five-car crash Brazil GP qualifying

McLaren’s Lando Norris has secured pole position for the Brazilian Grand Prix after five cars crashed out of qualifying after the session was rescheduled. 

Feature image credit: Red Bull Content Pool

It was an early morning start for the teams and drivers as the sport embarked on its earliest qualifying start of 7:30am, local time. This followed the adjusted schedule after qualifying was postponed on Saturday due to heavy rain. 

However, the rain continued to fall ahead of the session but eased off to allow Formula 1 and the FIA granting the session to go ahead. The drivers first went out on the full wets but as conditions improved, it wasn’t long before the intermediates made an appearance. 

Despite threatening to be knocked out of qualifying in Q1, Norris took pole position with a blistering lap time of 1m 23.405s in the challenging conditions which saw qualifying go on for one hour and 40 minutes. 

Mercedes’ George Russell and Visa Cash App RB’s Yuki Tsunoda completed the top three, in second and third respectively. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and Tsunoda’s teammate, Liam Lawson rounded out the top five. 

UPDATED SUNDAY SCHEDULE ⏰

After consultation with the stewards, Qualifying for the São Paulo Grand Prix will take place at 07:30 local time on Sunday morning ahead of the Grand Prix at 12:30 local.#F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/6sYawDri0P

— Formula 1 (@F1) November 2, 2024

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was sixth fastest, 1.1s off the pace of Norris ahead of Williams’ Alexander Albon, in seventh. The Williams driver was one of five cars to crash out of qualifying. 

The London-born Thai driver crashed heavily at turn 1 and his car was mangled with damage, giving his mechanics even more work to do after his teammate Franco Colapinto crashed in Q1.

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was only able to best eighth fastest. He was one of the first cars in Q2 to use the intermediate tyres, setting the trend for the rest of the session. 

Aston Martin will join Williams in repairing two cars ahead of the grand prix as Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll crashed out of qualifying in Q3 and Q2 respectively. However, Stroll progressed to Q3 after his crash and the two drivers will start ninth and 10th. 

“I’m ok” 🙏

Alex Albon has a BIG moment in qualifying and we have another red flag 😲 pic.twitter.com/H3IKZfsUHT

— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) November 3, 2024

Kick Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas was the fastest driver in the bottom 10, qualifying 11th for the grid ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen who missed out on a Q3 appearance after Stroll’s crash. However, the triple world champion will start 17th following a five-place grid penalty.

Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez completed the session 13th and will be the first to benefit from the Dutchman’s penalty moving up to 12th for the race. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly rounded out the top 15, in 14th and 15th respectively. 

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton missed out on Q2 by two-tenths and could only manage 16th fastest overall ahead of fellow Briton, Haas’ super-sub Oliver Bearman – 17th – who is replacing an unwell Kevin Magnussen this weekend. 

Colapinto, Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg and Kick Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu completed the 20-car field in 18th, 19th and 20th.

Read more Formula 1 here:

• FIA provide update after postponement of Brazil GP qualifying
• Hamilton jokes they need ‘better wet tyres’ to F1 President
• F1 Brazil GP qualifying postponed due to heavy rain
• Norris leads McLaren 1-2 after late swap at Brazil GP Sprint
• Leclerc avoids Verstappen punishment with fine for Mexico GP language
• Piastri leads McLaren front-row lock-out for Brazil GP Sprint

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Kamron Kent

Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.

I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

Kamron Kent

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.