Heavy rain in Sao Paulo saw Alex Albon, Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll, Carlos Sainz and Franco Colapinto all crash during qualifying which was abandoned on Saturday and resumed today ahead of Sunday’s race.
Treacherous wet conditions led to chaos and several crashes during qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix – with the F1 race cut short and stopped due to further smashes after a delayed start.
Heavy rain in Sao Paulo saw Alex Albon, Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll, Carlos Sainz and Franco Colapinto all crash during qualifying.
There was further confusion and drama later on the grid when the start of the F1 race was aborted after Stroll crashed for the second time in hours on the Interlagos race track.
Officials confirmed the grand prix would run to 69 laps following the aborted start and two formation laps – and 31 laps in, the race was stopped and restarted after a massive crash which saw Colapinto lose control of his car again.
Each of the three phases of qualifying were interrupted by at least one crash. This resulted in five red flags – which are used to stop a practice session, qualifying session or race due to a serious accident or extreme weather.
The flags infuriated drivers who were forced to reduce their speeds and proceed back to the pit lane – impacting their standings.
The session had already been postponed until Sunday after rain and lightning made conditions unsafe on Saturday.
Sunday’s delayed qualifying finished with McLaren’s Lando Norris on pole position – with title rival Max Verstappen in 17th place after he failed to make it to the third phase of qualifying.
Red Bull’s triple world champion had been on course to improve his time in the wet conditions but Stroll’s crash resulted in the third of five red flags – and the second phase of qualifying was halted with 46 seconds remaining.
