Max Verstappen secures Sao Paulo Grand Prix pole in stormy qualifying session

Red Bull's Max Verstappen took pole position for Sunday’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix as heavy rain impacted Friday's qualifying session.

Proceedings at the Brazilian city’s Interlagos circuit were delayed by 15 minutes as debris was swept from the track, with both Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso suffering punctures during an earlier practice run.

That meant an approaching electrical storm hit the session towards the end of Q3, with officials waving the red flag with four minutes remaining.

Verstappen was top of the leaderboard as the session was curtailed, securing his 11th pole position of the season. He will be joined on the first row by Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.

It was a good session for Aston Martin, who benefitted from getting their drivers on track early. Lance Stroll finished third, while Fernando Alonso, who recently dismissed speculation he would be moving to Red Bull, joined his team-mate on the second row.

The third row was locked out by Mercedes with Lewis Hamilton fifth and George Russell sixth, while McLaren's Lando Norris, who was quickest in Q2, sank to seventh. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was eighth.

Red Bull's Sergio Perez and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri placed ninth and 10th respectively, with the former forced to back off after the latter spun off the track in front of him.

Daniel Ricciardo suffered a shock elimination in Q1 and will start Sunday’s race in 17th, with his AlphaTauri team-mate Yuki Tsunoda one place ahead of him.

The weather made conditions extremely difficult, with Leclerc later saying that he had "never experienced anything like that".

"From Turn Four... there was no rain, but the car was extremely difficult to drive, no grip, and I was thinking about just coming in at the end of the lap," he said.

"But then I finished, and P2, so it's a really good surprise. It's a weird one for everyone on track today but I'm happy to be on the front row."

Verstappen also described the last lap as "quite hectic", before giving his opinion on Sunday's Grand Prix.

"It seems like it's all very close," he said. "You could already see that qualifying and I expect the same in the race. It's all about that [tyre] management."

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