Verstappen takes 31st pole in Brazil with Aston Martins on second row
Weather determines qualifying results at Interlagos. Verstappen takes pole position for Sunday, followed by Leclerc and Stroll. Alonso will start fourth and Sainz eighth.
Sudden change in weather defines qualifying result at Interlagos. / @F1
1:10.727 was Max Verstappen's pole time in Brazil, the 31st of his career. An anomalous qualifying, marked by the weather conditions that caused the sky at the Interlagos circuit to darken and turn from day to night in a matter of minutes, affected the result of Q3 in one of the closest times ever, with only a tenth of a second between the first and tenth fastest in Q2.
All the drivers tried to put in at least one quick lap on the soft tyres, but only the first to leave the pitlane were able to put in a good performance.
Leclerc, on form throughout qualifying, completes the front row, just three tenths of a second behind Verstappen. The second row is surprisingly completed by the two Aston Martins, with Stroll third and Alonso fourth.
Sainz, eighth in qualifying, was one of the drivers, along with the two McLaren drivers, who suffered from the sudden time change, as while he was doing his flying lap, the track conditions had already changed and it was not easy to control the car in the gusty winds.
Oscar Piastri's run off the track penalised the time of Sergio Perez, who had to brake to avoid contact with the Australian, leaving the Mexican in eleventh place.
A few minutes after the start of Q3, extreme weather conditions, with rain and strong winds, forced the stewards to issue a red flag, which set the result for Sunday's grid.
ALONSO DEFIES RUMORS
Shortly after the Mexican Grand Prix, a rumour began to circulate on Twitter which, judging by the tone of the journalist Albert Fábrega, seemed to be something more than banal and directly implicated Fernando Alonso. Throughout the week, hypotheses about the Spaniard's future have ranged from a possible swap with Sergio Pérez between Aston Martin and Red Bull to retirement.
Various official media outlets, Redbull and Alonso himself have all denied the rumours throughout the week. Fernando added that he would "try to make sure that there are consequences for whoever is spreading this kind of unfounded rumour and creating uncertainty inside and outside the paddock".
