Norris on Pole and Multiple Cars Out of Position After Rain-Soaked São Paulo Qualifying

The heavens opened at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace yesterday, resulting in what was by some margin the most dramatic qualifying session of the season. Some were wondering if there would be a Saturday session at all, with the memory of qualifying getting rained off and postponed until early Sunday morning two years ago still relatively fresh in all our minds. For many drivers, it was all rather academic whether there would be any sort of qualifying at all; however, Verstappen, Hamilton, Leclerc, Russell and Perez received grid penalties for exceeding their allocated power unit components.

After a hefty delay to the first part of the session with zero times on the board and an early end to the third part as the rain returned with a vengeance after having provided a brief window to set the grid, it was last year’s champion who grabbed pole for the third year in a row, the 20th in his career. Lasting two hours and 30 minutes, it was the second-longest qualifying session in history, and as well as all the grid penalties, the weather brought about disappointment for some drivers as well as an opportunity to move up the grid for others, with Liam Lawson equalling his best qualifying ever with third, and Hulkenberg fourth, sixteen years to the day he got pole here.

Welcome to Interlagos, where it never rains, it pours

The Autódromo José Carlos Pace is more commonly referred to as Interlagos, which translates to “between lakes.” Being located between the Guarapiranga and Billin reservoirs and its elevation explains why the area is so prone to rain, and this weekend appears to be another example of that. It is also an example of how unpredictable the weather can be around here, as rain was not expected to arrive until the Grand Prix on Sunday.

And yet, after all the practice sessions had taken place with none of them being affected by any rainfall, the floodgates opened before qualifying, but it still looked like the session could start as planned. No sooner did the green light come on at the end of the pitlane than an unforeseen deluge arrived at the circuit, and after many of the drivers gingerly went out on intermediate tyres and immediately reported aquaplaning, the session was red-flagged and stayed that way for almost 90 minutes. During this time, the safety car and medical car came out to assess the conditions as Marshals hopelessly tried to sweep water off the track.

Things were able to get back underway before the daylight started to drop too much; however, the first, second and third rounds of qualifying were able to take place without any of the drivers immediately painting their cars halfway across a wall. Despite most drivers doing a commendable job to keep it on track in the treacherous conditions, the two home heroes sadly came a cropper, with Gabriel Bortoleto and Esteban Ocon’s replacement at Haas, Rafael Camara, both going off at the Junção corner in Q1 and Q2 respectively, causing too much damage for them to continue. Lindblad was also eliminated as a car issue meant he could not continue.

Wet tyres finally made an appearance – but switching to intermediates was key

There is much discussion that has been had and many jokes made about the wet tyre compound, and how they are transported around the world to every race only to never get used, either because there is no rain, or because the intermediates are faster and don’t generate as much spray. With the race circuit that is between the two lakes starting to resemble a lake itself, however, using them was not an option.

But as Q2 progressed, the rain had eased off enough, and the wet tyres had moved enough of the water sitting on the circuit that switching to the faster intermediate tyres seemed like the best way to guarantee having the best time. Fernando Alonso, the “wily old fox” as Sky Sports so lovingly call him, was the first to gamble on them, and though he was not entirely happy with his runs, he set a time that was good enough for eighth on the grid, with his and Aston Martin’s first Q3 appearance of the season.

On the flipside, Oscar Piastri was one of the last drivers to switch from the wet tyres to the inters and was unable to set a time on them good enough to get out of the drop-zone, after Camara’s crash brought out the red flag, effectively ending Q2 prematurely. It was a second Q2 elimination in a row for the man from Melbourne, after a questionable tyre strategy ended his qualifying early in Mexico.

Could São Paulo be F1’s first reverse grid race?

A reverse grid race, where the fastest drivers start at the back and the slowest drivers start at the front, has often been mooted by some fans as a way to generate some more excitement in races with more changes of position. These people might have finally had their wish granted, with two of the three most recent polesitters starting at the back through grid penalties.

Both Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton have been sent to the back of the grid for exceeding their allocated components, as has Sergio Perez. Further up, Charles Leclerc has a ten-place grid drop for a new internal combustion engine and George Russell, though exasperated over the call to back off before the rain returned, would never have started on pole because he has a five-place grid penalty for a new ICE.

Given that both Lewis and Max have a history of truly generational recovery drives at Interlagos, no one should be surprised if they start slicing through the field like a knife through butter. World Champion Kimi Antonelli, who gets to start on the front row thanks to George’s penalty, won’t want them to, and neither will Mercedes, given that they are hoping to get the crucial three points over Ferrari in order to win the Constructors’ Title. What everyone, fans and drivers alike, wants, however, is some (but not too much) more rain. This is because when it comes to an equalising force and a test of driver skill and bravery, there is nothing quite like it.