Norris takes pole position in Sunday morning qualifying, as RB record their best combined qualifying result since 2008 and Red Bull fail to reach Q3 for the first time since the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix. Here are the facts and statistics from qualifying at the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
NORRIS ON POLE FOR THE 2024 SAO PAULO GRAND PRIX
In a heavily interrupted and much delayed Sunday morning qualifying session, Lando Norris secured pole position for the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
This was the eighth pole position of Norris’ career and the sixth time he has taken pole in the last nine races.
This was McLaren’s tenth pole in total at Interlagos – their first at the track since the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix.
This was the sixth qualifying session which was moved to Sunday morning – and the first in which a German driver did not take pole position when qualifying has been delayed to Sunday. Qualifying also took place on Sunday morning at the 2004, 2010 and 2019 Japanese Grands Prix, the 2013 Australian Grand Prix and the 2015 United States Grand Prix.
With qualifying beginning at 7:30am, this was the earliest time of day at which qualifying has ever been held for a Formula 1 race (unless you count qualifying for the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix, which began at midnight on race day).
In total, there were five red flags during qualifying for the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix. It equalled the record for the most red flags in a qualifying session since the current qualifying format was introduced in 2006. There were also five red flag periods during qualifying for the 2022 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
IN THE TOP 10
Both Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson qualified in the top five for the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix. It’s only the second time in the Red Bull junior team’s history that both drivers will start in the top five positions on the grid. The last time they did so was the 2008 Italian Grand Prix – a race which they won.
Tsunoda’s third place marked the best qualifying result of his Formula 1 career. His previous best result was sixth place, at the 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
This was the first time that Tsunoda has reached Q3 at Interlagos.
With fifth place, Liam Lawson became the first driver from New Zealand to qualify in the top five since Chris Amon at the 1976 Swedish Grand Prix.
Prior to 2024, Sebastien Buemi’s sixth place in 2009 is the only other time that the Red Bull junior team have qualified in the top six in Brazil. This was the team’s first double Q3 appearance in Brazil since 2013.
This was RB’s first double Q3 appearance since the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix.
Esteban Ocon qualified fourth for the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix, his first top five qualifying result since qualifying fourth for the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix. It equalled the second-best qualifying result of his career. The only time Ocon has qualified higher was at the 2018 Belgian Grand Prix, where he qualified third.
This was only the second time, after 2022, that Ocon reached Q3 at Interlagos.
With Charles Leclerc qualifying sixth and Carlos Sainz only 14th, this was the first time since 2014 that neither Ferrari driver qualified in the top three at Interlagos.
Before crashing, Alex Albon qualified seventh for the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix, recording his best qualifying result of the season to date. It was his best qualifying result since setting the sixth fastest time in Q3 at the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Seventh place is Williams’ best qualifying result in Sao Paulo since Valtteri Bottas qualified fourth with the team in 2015.
While Lando Norris took pole, Oscar Piastri qualified eighth. This was the first time since 2014 that both McLaren drivers qualified in the top eight in Sao Paulo.
Fernando Alonso crashed out in Q3 and qualified ninth for the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix. With him reaching Q3 and Lewis Hamilton not, Alonso set a new outright record for the most Q3 appearances at Interlagos. This was his 15th Q3 appearance at the track.
Despite crashing in Q2, Lance Stroll reached Q3. He was unable to set a lap time and therefore qualified tenth. This was the first time he qualified in the top ten since the 2024 Dutch Grand Prix.
This was Stroll’s second Q3 appearance at Interlagos, having first reached Q3 at the track in 2023.
OUT IN Q2
George Russell qualified on the front row for the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix, recording his best qualifying result since taking pole position for the 2024 British Grand Prix.
For the first time since the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix, neither Red Bull driver appeared in Q3. This was the first time since 2008 that neither Red Bull driver qualified in the top ten at Interlagos and the first time since 2009 that either of the team’s cars has failed to qualify in the top ten here.
Max Verstappen’s Q2 exit meant that every driver on the grid has now failed to reach Q3 at least once during the 2024 season. It ended a streak of 27 consecutive Q3 appearances for the Dutch driver.
12th place marks Verstappen’s worst qualifying result since qualifying 15th for the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Verstappen lost his 100% Q3 appearance rate at Interlagos. Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri both retained their records, while Liam Lawson joined them in the club. Sebastien Bourdais is the only other driver with a 100% Q3 appearance rate at the track.
With Verstappen out in Q2 and Lewis Hamilton having been eliminated in Q1, this was the first time since the start of Verstappen’s career that neither driver reached Q3. It was the first qualifying session since the 2014 Hungarian Grand Prix in which neither Hamilton nor Verstappen appeared in Q3.
This was the first time since 2019 that Sergio Perez failed to reach Q3 at Interlagos.
Valtteri Bottas qualified 11th, recording his best qualifying result since reaching Q3 at the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix.
Crashing out in Q2, Carlos Sainz qualified 14th for the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix. This is his worst qualifying result since he qualified 16th for the 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Sainz’s Q2 elimination marks only the second time that a Ferrari driver has failed to reach Q3 in Brazil and only the second time since 1988 that a Ferrari driver has failed to qualify in the top ten at Interlagos. Giancarlo Fisichella – who qualified 20th in 2009 – is the only other Ferrari driver who has failed to reach Q3 here.
For the third year in a row, Pierre Gasly was out in Q2 at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
OUT IN Q1
For the second time in the last three races, Lewis Hamilton was eliminated in Q1 at the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Hamilton recorded Mercedes’ second Q1 exit at Interlagos. He also brought about the team’s other Q1 exit here, after crashing out in the early stages of qualifying for the 2017 Brazilian Grand Prix.
For only the second time in the last 37 Grand Prix weekends, both Haas drivers were out in Q1. The 2024 Belgian Grand Prix is the team’s only other double Q1 exit since the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix.
This was Haas’ second double Q1 exit in Brazil – their first since 2021.
For the first time time in his three Formula 1 appearances, Ollie Bearman was eliminated in Q1.
Nico Hulkenberg qualified only 19th for the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix. He equalled his worst qualifying result of the season to date, having also qualified 19th for the Canadian Grand Prix.
This was Hulkenberg’s first-ever Q1 exit at Interlagos and only the second time, after 2019, that he has been out-qualified by a team-mate here.
Franco Colapinto crashed out in Q1 and qualified only 18th. It equalled his worst qualifying result to date, having also qualified 18th at the Italian Grand Prix.
Zhou Guanyu set the slowest qualifying lap time of all the competing drivers for the seventh time in the last eight race weekends.