Qualifying: Verstappen edges Vettel for pole in Brazil

Published on 16 Nov 2019 20:03

By: Fergal Walsh

Max Verstappen has taken pole position for the Brazilian Grand Prix, edging out Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel for the top spot.

The Dutchman set a 1:07.508 in Q3, going one-tenth faster than Vettel who will start on the front row.

In the final moments of the Q3 session, Lewis Hamilton pipped Charles Leclerc for third place, dropping the Monegasque driver to fourth.

However, due to a grid penalty for taking on a new engine this weekend, the Ferrari driver will start Sunday's race from 14th on the grid.

Valtteri Bottas secured fifth for Mercedes, while Alexander Albon couldn't improve on his final run and had to settle for sixth, three-tenths down on teammate Verstappen.

Gasly wins close midfield battle

In the tight battle for the midfield, there was surprise as Haas managed to get both of its cars into the top ten following a handful of tricky events.

The American squad failed to capture the 'best of the rest' spot, as Pierre Gasly qualified in seventh-place - outperforming his teammate Daniil Kvyat, who dropped out in Q1.

Romain Grosjean was the first of the Haas cars in eighth place, while Kevin Magnussen rounded out the top ten. Kimi Raikkonen ended the session lodged in between the Haas duo in ninth.

McLaren suffer underwhelming session

McLaren's qualifying session started off with a blow, as Carlos Sainz reported an issue with his engine while he took to the circuit in Q1.

The Spaniard failed to set a lap time and will start the race from the back of the grid. His teammate Lando Norris qualified in 11th, but will move into the top ten following the application of Leclerc's penalty.

Renault also failed to get one of its cars into Q3, with Daniel Ricciardo narrowly getting the better of Nico Hulkenberg in Q2, with the two making up 12th and 14th respectively.

Antonio Giovinazzi failed to progress out of the Q2 dropzone, and was the cause of double-waved yellow flags in the final moments of the session due to a spin.