Max Verstappen faces the possibility of starting at the back of the grid for the Brazilian Grand Prix tomorrow. The race weekend has been marred by heavy rain, leading to the postponement of the qualifying session to Sunday.
However, with sustained downpours forecasted for tomorrow as well, the feasibility of conducting qualifying remains uncertain. Current regulations offer no comprehensive guidelines for a postponed or canceled qualifying session during a sprint race weekend, leading the stewards to deliberate over a fair solution.
Two potential scenarios have emerged for determining the grid positions. The first option suggests using the results from the sprint race to decide the grid order. In this particular race, Lando Norris claimed victory after teammate Oscar Piastri allowed him to pass. Max Verstappen, initially finishing third, was demoted to fourth place due to a five-second penalty for breaching virtual safety car delta conditions. As it stands, an additional five-place engine penalty could see Verstappen drop to ninth on the grid if the sprint outcomes are chosen.
Alternatively, the stewards may opt to use the results from the Free Practice 1 session to form the grid. During FP1, Lando Norris once again shone with the fastest lap, while Verstappen endured a challenging session plagued by technical problems, including an air leak that limited his track time. He aborted his run in the third sector, resulting in a P15 finish. Applying another engine penalty would push Verstappen to start from the very last position, P20.
The championship standings also hang in the balance as Verstappen holds a 45-point lead over Lando Norris. A disadvantageous starting position or additional penalties could jeopardize his comfortable lead.
The FIA has shared the following update:
"The Qualifying for the São Paulo Grand Prix is postponed."The decision was taken due to the lack of visibility caused by the level of rain we have experienced in the past few hours. There is a lot of standing water on parts of the circuit which renders conditions unsafe."As much as we would all like to see competition on track, the safety of drivers, team members, volunteers, officials and spectators is our main priority."A decision on a start time for Qualifying tomorrow morning will be taken as soon as possible."
The Qualifying for the São Paulo Grand Prix is postponed.The decision was taken due to the lack of visibility caused by the level of rain we have experienced in the past few hours. There is a lot of standing water on parts of the circuit which renders conditions unsafe.As…
- Max Verstappen - 362 points2. Lando Norris - 315 points3. Charles Leclerc - 291 points4. Oscar Piastri - 251 points5. Carlos Sainz - 240 points6. Lewis Hamilton - 189 points7. George Russell - 177 points8. Sergio Perez - 150 points9. Fernando Alonso - 62 points10. Nico Hulkenberg - 31 points11. Lance Stroll - 24 points12. Yuki Tsunoda - 22 points13. Kevin Magnussen - 14 points14. Alex Albon - 12 points15. Daniel Ricciardo - 12 points16. Pierre Gasly - 9 points17. Oliver Bearman - 7 points18. Franco Colapinto - 5 points19. Esteban Ocon - 5 points20. Liam Lawson - 2 points21. Zhou Guanyu - 0 points22. Logan Sargeant - 0 points23. Valtteri Bottas - 0 points
Lydia is the lead editor of F1 editorial. After following the sport for several years, she was finally able to attend the British Grand Prix in person in 2017. Since then, she's been addicted to not only the racing, but the atmosphere the fans bring to each event. She's a strong advocate for women in motorsport and a more diverse industry.
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Max Verstappen's Sprint Race Performance
Max Verstappen and the McLarens look the ones to beat on Sunday.
Lando Norris may have taken victory in the Brazilian GP sprint race after swapping positions with Oscar Piastri but it is Max Verstappen who has shown a more solid race pace and his chances of a comeback after his five-place grid penalty on Sunday seem optimistic.
After one Ferrari was passed, it was time for the other and Verstappen stuck to the back of Charles Leclerc’s SF-24 but could not overtake directly and got trapped in a DRS train formed by Lando Norris, the Ferrari driver and himself as the last man in this trio.
This race situation lasted until lap 18, when Leclerc’s medium tyres gave out and Verstappen was finally able to overtake him to reach P3.
From here, +1.7s behind Norris, who had previously opened a gap to the Ferrari with a change of pace from McLaren highlighting the Italian team’s problem with keeping their tyres alive.
Verstappen also started pushing and started to chase down Norris and Piastri in the final stages of the race.
Verstappen closed the gap to +1.287s on lap 21, the closest he came to Norris after overtaking Leclerc. However, Nico Hulkenberg’s retirement on lap 22, which led to the double yellow flag at Turn 10, forced McLaren to bring forward their drivers’ position changes, which were scheduled for the final lap.
The FIA took one lap to bring out the Virtual Safety Car, and the Papaya team took advantage of this long delay to make the position change between Norris and Piastri on the straight before turn 4, losing as little time as possible before the race was neutralised by the VSC finally deployed on lap 23.
Verstappen's Chances of a Comeback
Although McLaren never lost the 1-2 in the 24-lap sprint race, Verstappen was the driver with the best race pace at Interlagos. Even losing time behind Charles Leclerc for much of the race and having very few laps to chase down Norris, whom he closed the gap as soon as he had clean air, Max Verstappen was the fastest man at Interlagos.
With Ferrari suffering more than expected and Sergio Perez even making up five positions in the sprint race – albeit against lesser calibre rivals – with a new power unit, a good qualifying result and the pace he showed on track on Saturday added to his great tyre management even after the big lock up he suffered in the opening moments of the race, Verstappen can even dream of fighting for the win on Sunday.
McLaren proved strong, but vulnerable. Norris didn’t look solid enough today to even trouble his teammate, who struggled at the end of the race to keep Verstappen behind before the VSC.
Sunday’s race promises to be an interesting one with the added bonus of the threat of rain. Can Verstappen take his third win in Brazil despite the five-place grid drop penalty?
Read next: Brazilian GP: McLaren team orders gift Lando Norris maximum Sprint points
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