Accident, rain, chaos qualifying
Schumacher last, teammate gets sensational pole
11/11/2022, 9:13 p.m
What a wild qualifying session for the Haas Formula 1 team: While Mick Schumacher failed on the first lap and came last, Kevin Magnussen surprisingly raced to pole for the sprint race on Saturday. Things are not going well for Sebastian Vettel either.
Before the clock runs out, Mick Schumacher’s teammate Kevin Magnussen climbs onto his car in the Haas box, drums on the chassis and is celebrated by his crew. Under the gray sky of São Paulo, the Dane surprisingly secured the best grid position for the last sprint race of the Formula 1 year. In the moody Brazilian weather, Magnussen was favored by a break after an accident involving Mercedes driver George Russell and could no longer be relegated from the front. The 30-year-old drove the fastest time under strange conditions on a still dry track, which his competitors were no longer able to counter after the involuntary break and the onset of rain. “I’ve never felt like this in my life,” he radioed to his team from the car.
His stable rival Schumacher experienced a frustrating qualification. The second Haas pilot, who was still fighting for a new contract, was only last in the first knockout round. So the German didn’t do the much-needed self-promotion. “It’s a shame, our car was actually really strong today,” said the 23-year-old. Magnussen later proved this. Sebastian Vettel at least made it into the second knockout round. In 13th place, the four-time world champion in the Aston Martin missed the top ten.
On a wet track, Schumacher was initially one of the faster riders with intermediates, but when the asphalt dried up, he couldn’t do a sufficiently strong lap on slicks and was passed through. “I had to drive into the wet on my outlap to let two cars pass,” he said on Sky before Magnussen managed his feat: “That didn’t do the temperature in the tires any good.”
“… and now I’m on pole”
A slip by Russell into the gravel bed in dry conditions caused an interruption after almost four minutes in the decisive round. As the rain then pelted down, the other drivers couldn’t improve their times – and Magnussen stayed in front. “You’re joking,” said the Dane over the radio before coming into the pits. “The team got me out at exactly the right time. It’s unbelievable. I was first out, did a decent lap and now I’m on pole.”
Since in Interlagos for the third and last time this season on Saturday (8.30 p.m. in the live ticker at ntv.de) a sprint race is held, the qualification was brought forward to Friday. The result of the sprint then provides the starting grid for the penultimate race of the season on Sunday (19 o’clock in the live ticker at ntv.de). World champion Max Verstappen in the Red Bull finished second ahead of Russell.
Ferrari makes a fool of himself once again
In the opening session, Sergio Perez was unbeatable – albeit narrowly. In the one-hour unit with 1:11.853 minutes, the Mexican relegated Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari to second place by just 0.004 seconds. Perez’ teammate Max Verstappen, who was already world champion, was only 0.008 seconds off the top. And that, although the Dutchman complained about the balance of the car.
“It will be crucial that you go out at the right time,” said Red Bull’s motorsport consultant Helmut Marko before the Hatz and spoke of “difficult conditions”. Leclerc and Carlos Sainz experienced this in their own Ferrari pits. Like the competition, they wanted to switch from all-weather tires to soft rubber in the first knockout round – but they didn’t have the right ones ready. Slapstick at the Scuderia. Haas, on the other hand, was over the moon. “Magnussen took the chance, came out first and put in a flawless lap,” said Red Bull’s motorsport advisor Marko, praising the competition’s coup.