Magnussen claims surprise pole for Haas in Brazil

Kevin Magnussen has given Haas its first Formula 1 pole position in a thrilling wet/dry Qualifying session for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

The Dane made the most of the conditions in the opening moments of Qualifying 3 before a red flag and worsening conditions confirmed him out front.

He’ll head Max Verstappen on the front row in the Sprint on Saturday, which will determine the grid for Sunday’s race.

George Russell will line up third, despite his error drawing the red flag, with Lando Norris alongside him in the second row.

Rain ahead of the session left the track damp, and with more predicted before the end of the session, it tempted most out as the session began.

Charles Leclerc laid down the initial benchmark with a 1:19.191s, the Ferrari scrabbling for grip on intermediate tyres.

Another lap saw that time improve to a 1:18.723s, with Carlos Sainz slotting in second with a 1:18.888s.

Times improved as drivers grew in confidence, gained tyre temperature, and the track conditions slowly improved.

That resulted in Max Verstappen going fastest, only to slip to second when Fernando Alonso went quicker.

Pierre Gasly was the first to brave the switch onto slick tyres for Scuderia AlphaTauri.

His first lap was almost 1.6s off the pace though found strong improvements next time around to record a 1:17.626s to shoot to the top of the timesheets.

A host of others had followed his lead, including Ferrari which fitted a set of new soft tyres for Leclerc in chaotic scenes.

Gasly found more time on his next lap to log a 1:16.557s as everyone moved onto slick tyres.

With two minutes remaining, all 20 runners were on track as times continued to plummet.

Qualifying 1 ended with Norris fastest from Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, while missing the cut were Nicholas Latifi, Guanyu Zhou, Valtteri Bottas, Yuki Tsunoda, and Mick Schumacher.

As Qualifying 2 commenced, race control advised that DRS could be used as conditions had improved sufficiently.

Norris was again quick, managing a 1:11.571s to hold the provisional best time.

There was more time to be found, with Alonso then Verstappen going fastest, the latter with a helpful slipstream on his run to the line.

That resulted in a 1:11.318s lap, 0.08s quicker than Alonso.

With five minutes remaining, conditions began to turn, the sky darkening as reports of rain around the circuit increased.

Despite the increasingly difficult conditions, Vettel was able to improve into the top 10. That bumped Sainz, who sat 10th to that point.

The Spaniard found more pace, improving to second fastest with a 1:10.890s to sit second.

Kevin Magnussen also improved to slot into the top 10 while another effort from Vettel resulted in him running long at Turn 1.

Eliminated from the session were Albon, Gasly, Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo, and Lance Stroll.

Conditions worsened ahead of Qualifying 3, with a heavy band of rain quickly approaching the circuit.

That prompted all but Norris to queue at pit exit before the session began – most on slicks while Leclerc went for intermediate rubber.

It looked the wrong decision as, at least to start with, the circuit remained mostly dry. Rather than pitting for dry rubber, he remained on track.

Perez was also impacted, the Red Bull driver tucked up behind the Ferrari on the wrong tyres.

Magnussen set the early pace with a 1:11.674s while Leclerc abandoned his lap and pitted for a set of fresh tyres.

A mistake from George Russell saw the Mercedes driver stuck in the gravel, drawing the red flag.

The Mercedes driver lost control under braking, bouncing through the gravel at Turn 4 before spinning back into the gravel trap as he tried to rescue the situation.

The delay was good news for Magnussen as conditions worsened during the stoppage.

Sitting ninth, Perez headed out on a set of intermediates as the session resumed, looking to improve on his 1:15.601s.

He abandoned the lap, touring back to the pit lane where Charles Leclerc had climbed out of his car.

Magnussen’s time was legitimate- set at a time when eight of his rivals also had slick tyres fitted.

The Haas driver got the best of the conditions and set the best lap, to prompting scenes of jubilation in both the garage and grandstands.

Results: Formula 1 Sao Paulo Grand Prix, Qualifying