Formel 1

Eight months after making his shock return to Formula 1, Kevin Magnussen took a stunning pole position in an incredible qualifying session for the 2022 Sao ...

Norris qualified fourth and Sainz – who has a five-place penalty for Sunday’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix – rounded out the top five. The Haas garage was a picture of anxiety during the stoppage. With eight minutes and 10 seconds on the clock, Magnussen was top with a time of 1m 11.674s, Verstappen 0.203s behind. A lashing of rain made for a slick surface for the start of Q1 in Brazil – with a headwind buffeting the drivers into Turn 1. Russell reached safety with P4 and Norris rounded out the top five ahead of Alonso. Midway through the session, Verstappen led with a time of 1m 11.318s, with Alonso 0.078s back and Leclerc another 0.15s behind the Alpine driver. The Monegasque driver crawled around on his out-lap but, in an unexpected turn, stayed out to lap on the treaded tyres. Vettel finished fourth, half a second off the pace, while FP1 leader Perez rounded out the top five ahead of Verstappen. Ricciardo squeezed through to Q2 in P15 at the expense of Williams driver Latifi – 0.164s off safety. Pierre Gasly was 12th for AlphaTauri ahead of Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel and McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo, while a mistake saw Vettel’s team mate Lance Stroll qualify 15th for the Sprint. A short stoppage later, and the rain began to fall: Magnussen’s time would stand, and he would have his first Formula 1 pole position. Verstappen finished second, 0.203s off the pace, while Russell took third for the Sprint.