Charles Leclerc nearly abandoned his 2023 Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying lap as grip levels disappeared prior to a downpour in conditions the Ferrari Formula 1 driver had 'never experienced' before.
A 15-minute delay to the start of qualifying, owed to clearing the track of debris, meant Q3 ran late. That allowed for a storm to arrive in the closing stages of the shootout. As a result, Q3 was ultimately red-flagged with four minutes to run when the thunder and lightning hit. Max Verstappen therefore bagged pole for the Sunday race with a 1min10.727s flying lap set early in the session. The Red Bull driver pipped Leclerc by 0.
But it's a very weird one for everybody out on track today.' Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB19 He added: 'In those sprint weekends, there's always a big question mark on the race pace. But I hope it will be a good one. 'Hopefully there won't be too much rain tomorrow and Sunday. Three-time world champion Verstappen called out the 'insane weather' that he reckoned led to a 'terrible' lap.