2023 Rolex São Paulo Grand Prix Race Recap،
Max Verstappen took another pole position at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix at Interlagos, where Charles Leclerc qualified second and Aston Martin surprisingly locked down the second row.
Verstappen’s one and only Q3 lap of 1:10.727 proved unbeatable, with increasing rain and darkening skies preventing the usual second set of times at the end of the session.
Leclerc qualified 0.294 seconds behind Verstappen, while Aston pair Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso were both just over 0.6 seconds behind leader Red Bull.
The result will be a welcome boost for both the team and Stroll, who has been under pressure for results in recent months.
Mercedes, who entered the race quietly confident in a strong weekend of racing, will have to win the race from the third row of the grid, with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell failing to complete a lap as conditions deteriorated. were deteriorating.
Russell is under investigation for an embarrassing incident with Pierre Gasly exiting the pit lane.
Lando Norris finished seventh for McLaren, who will be wondering what could have been after looking fast in Q1 and Q2.
Carlos Sainz finished ninth, while Sergio Perez’s disappointing qualifying form continued as he finished ninth, a second and a half off the time set by his teammate. He seemed affected by the impending storm as one of the last drivers on track in Q3.
A post-session notification by the stewards indicated that Pérez was under investigation for interference when exiting the pit lane.
Oscar Piastri, who also appeared to be impacted by the weather, ran wide at the end of his lap and did not complete a lap, but he will start from 10th after improving in the first two sessions.
The Sao Paulo race weekend follows a sprint race format, meaning Friday’s session sets the grid for Sunday’s grand prix.
Both sessions on Saturday are stand-alone sprint sessions.
Haas was unable to replicate Kevin Magnussen’s pole position here last year, with both drivers missing in Q2. Nico Hulkenberg will start 11th while Magnussen, who woke up last year in wet conditions, could only finish 15th.
The Danish driver felt like he was hampered by a Ferrari during his key run. Despite good form, the AlphaTauri duo Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo were eliminated in Q1, the opening segment of the session.
Tsunoda appeared to claim he was hampered in a key lap, with the show broadcasting a radio message from the Japanese driver repeating Lewis Hamilton’s name over and over after he was told he had failed to qualify for Q2.
Alfa Romeo saw both drivers eliminated in the opening session, with Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou set to start either side of Logan Sargeant, who qualified 19th. Zhou will align to the last location on the grid.
