Winners and losers from the 2024 Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying

Lando Norris has achieved a very important pole position in the Brazilian GP to have one of the best possible chances so far to cut a lot of points from Max Verstappen’s World Championship lead.

The Red Bull driver was eliminated in Q2 after a red flag and the rain also left us with some very surprising moments like Yuki Tsunoda’s third position at Interlagos.

Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying: The Winners

Lando Norris

Pole under wet conditions and his title rival qualifying a provisional P17 after almost being knocked out in Q1, what a plot twist that was. The perfect scenario for the McLaren driver and the one he needed to maintain his chances of fighting for the World Championship in the final rounds of the 2024 season.

Norris was able to regain his confidence after a poor Q1 with very difficult track conditions, but as the track became drier the MCL38’s performance in these conditions stood out and the British driver’s performance in Q3 was brilliant.

It’s his time to put the icing on the cake in the race and take the maximum points available for this GP after winning the Sprint race as well.

George Russell

While Lewis Hamilton complained of an undrivable car, Russell was comfortable in the W15 and finished +0.173s off Norris’ pole position. A further blow for Russell to the seven-time world champion who he is beating with great clarity in qualifying sessions.

Starting P2 and with expected wet conditions, the W15’s flaws from yesterday’s dry conditions have disappeared and this gives Russell a great chance to fight for the podium at the circuit where he achieved his first F1 victory back in 2022.

VCARB

The big positive surprise in qualifying. The Visa Cash App Racing Bulls team has made a performance leap from yesterday in the wet conditions. With a car setup that was probably cleverly geared to these conditions, Yuki Tsunoda in P3 and Liam Lawson in P5 did a superb job.

In a weekend where Haas was expected to finish fifth, VCARB now has a sensational opportunity to fight for a handful of points in the race to regain P6 in the Constructor’s from the American team.

Esteban Ocon

After being clearly surpassed by Pierre Gasly in Sprint Qualifying and the Sprint Race, the French driver proved once again that he feels like a fish under water in the rain. The Alpine driver qualified P4 and at times looked like one of the pole contenders in Brazil.

With his teammate in P15, the Enstone-based team will have to prioritise the one driver who will not continue with the team next year in order to score some vital Constructors’ Championship points in the fight for P8 against Williams.

Relive a very chaotic Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying session at Interlagos

Brazilian GP: Norris adds to Verstappen’s misery in crazy qualifying session

Max Verstappen furious with ‘bulls**t’ FIA red flag delay after surprise quali exit

Brazilian Grand Prix: The Losers

Max Verstappen

Verstappen is undoubtedly the big loser of the Brazilian GP qualifying. After a Sprint race where he showed great race pace, even threatening McLaren, the rain could become the Red Bull driver’s best ally to minimise his five-place grid penalty.

However, the unfortunate timing of the red flag caused by Lance Stroll at the end of Q2 prevented both Max and Sergio Pérez from making it through to Q3. Verstappen finished P12.

Verstappen will provisionally start P17 and if the wet conditions continue, the performance between the cars will be equalised and this will take away a big advantage to allow him to move up positions easily during the race.

Verstappen will have to work his magic to prevent Norris from taking a handful of points off him on Sunday. It looks like this season’s plot is to have an entertaining end to the final rounds.

Lewis Hamilton

Once again Hamilton’s serious qualifying problems are evident. Continually complaining over the radio about the handling of his W15, the seven-time world champion was eliminated in Q1 in wet conditions, where he has historically managed to excel over his rivals.

While his team-mate was able to fight for pole and qualify P2, he failed to make the cut and is likely to start from the pit lane in Brazil, further undermining his chances of fighting for points after a Sprint Race where his performance was also really negative.

Carlos Sainz

From hero to zero. After a bad Sprint race comes a worse qualifying session for him. The Spanish driver, who is coming from a perfect weekend in Mexico, has suffered an accident at turn 11 at Interlagos and has left his car badly damaged before the race.

In the middle of Ferrari’s fight for the Constructors’ Championship, it was a very bad time to make a mistake after tasting glory less than a week ago.

Oscar Piastri

A very poor Q3 for the Australian driver who has been accumulating poor results in qualifying since the latest F1 break before the US GP, despite having a car capable of fighting at least for P4 in every race.

After achieving Sprint Pole and putting McLaren in a difficult position again over whether to prioritise Lando Norris or him for the Sprint race win, it is clear that Piastri has to make a stronger case if he really wants Norris’ status for these final rounds and cannot complain if McLaren makes decisions like Saturday’s.

He was lucky that Carlos Sainz also failed and his mistakes were therefore less costly.

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