Oscar Piastri has been knocked out in Q2 for the second race weekend in a row after a late red flag ended his hopes in a rain-soaked Sao Paulo Grand Prix qualifying, while McLaren teammate Lando Norris took pole position at Interlagos.
Piastri was on a fast lap when Haas debutant Rafael Camara crashed into the barrier at Juncao with less than a minute left in Q2, Fox Sports reported. Race control did not restart the session, leaving the Australian 12th.
Piastri should still start inside the top 10 because of grid penalties for the Ferrari pair, Lewis Hamilton, who qualified 11th, and Charles Leclerc, according to Fox Sports.
Norris on pole again in Brazil
Norris set a 1m 27.470s in Q3 to beat Mercedes’ George Russell (1m 27.674s) and newly crowned world champion Kimi Antonelli (1m 28.095s), sealing his third consecutive pole position at Interlagos, Formula1.com reported.
Leclerc qualified fourth ahead of New Zealander Liam Lawson, with Nico Hulkenberg sixth for Audi. Isack Hadjar, Ollie Bearman, Fernando Alonso and Alex Albon completed the top 10.
Read more: Oscar Piastri Out in Q2 as Hamilton Takes Mexico GP Pole for Ferrari
“It’s been a long day,” Norris said. “It’s been a great Qualifying. Obviously, to be on pole again here, it’s different conditions to last year but I’m very happy.”
Russell will drop five places on the grid and Leclerc 10, while Hamilton and Max Verstappen will start from the back. Verstappen chose not to take part in Q2.
Russell fumes and rain wreaks havoc
Russell was told to abandon his final lap as the rain returned in Q3. “P2, I don’t want to be P2, I want to be P1. That was a P1 lap,” he said on team radio, as reported by Fox Sports.
Heavy rain forced Q1 to be red-flagged only minutes after it began, causing a lengthy delay before the session resumed. Camara, who replaced Esteban Ocon at Haas for his Formula 1 debut, finished 13th after his crash, Grande Premio reported.
The Sao Paulo Grand Prix starts at 2pm local time on Sunday, which is 4am AEDT on Monday.
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