Brazil GP | Verstappen claims the pole position
The Dutchman set the fastest lap in Interlagos, beating Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton by less than two tens.
Max Verstappen obtained the pole position in the 2019 Brazilian Gran Prix with a 1.07:508 on his second attempt. The Red Bull driver was also the fastest in the first Q3 run, where he outpaced Sebastian Vettel despite a mistake at the Pinheirinho corner.
The lap that put @Max33Verstappen on pole for tomorrow’s #BrazilGP 🚀🇧🇷 #F1 pic.twitter.com/kkEBG9sq0u
— Aston Martin Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) November 16, 2019
Differently from the Dutch talent, Sebastian Vettel, was not able to improve his performance during the second run, ending up second with a 1.07:631 as a final lap.
Lewis Hamilton, instead, ended up in P3, overcoming Charles Leclerc in P4 at the end of the session. The Monegasque driver, despite reaching the second raw, will start from the 14th position as he carries a 10-place grid penalty for an engine substitution.
Leclerc was the only driver to set his Q2 time with the medium compound in order to have a differentiated strategy in comparison to the others, who will start the race on softs.
Valterri Bottas finished fifth with the other Silver Arrow after failing to improve in its second attempt, while Alexander Albon was 6th with the second Red Bull, lagging behind his team-mate by 0.427s.
Pierre Gasly won the battle for the remaining positions in the top 10, obtaining the 7th fastest time, just 0.007 quicker than Grosjean.
Kimi Raikkonen with his Alfa Romeo and Kevin Magnussen with the second Haas concluded the top-10.
Lando Norris, missed the Q3 by only one-hundredth, while the two Renault drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg, set the 12th and 14th best times, sandwiching Antonio Giovinazzi in P13 with the other Alfa Romeo.
Sergio Perez was the slowest in the Q2, only 0.114s off Nico Hulkenberg.
Daniel Kvyat was the fastest among those who were eliminated in the Q1. The Russian failed to reach the Q2 by only 0.032s as he did not manage to improve during his second attempt due to a lock-up on cold tyres during his flying lap.
Lance Stroll, with the other Racing Point, ended in P17, while the two Williams’ drivers George Russell and Robert Kubica finished 18th and 19th.
Carlos Sainz, after suffering from reliability issues with its Mclaren during his first flier in Q1, returned to the pits and did not set any lap.
