Haas F1 Team driver Kevin Magnussen shocked everyone within the FIA Formula 1 World Championship on Friday as he secured his maiden pole position in the sport for Saturday’s sprint race at the São Paulo Grand Prix.
Coming into the penultimate race weekend of the season, there wasn’t much optimism when it came to weather conditions with early indications suggesting it was going to be a wet weekend. There was some slight rain fall before Q1 which led to all the teams going out for their first runs on the Intermediate tyres.
Magnussen’s fastest lap time on the green rubber was deleted for track limits. As the first round of qualifying progressed, Scuderia AlphaTauri F1 Team’s Pierre Gasly, was the first driver to switch to the Red soft tyre and it didn’t take long for the other drivers to follow suit. Magnussen comfortably bettered his first run with a time of 1:13.954 to advance into Q2.
Q2 continued with wet conditions remaining mixed as teams had to decide whether to go out on slicks or go back to the inters. With the track only being slightly wet in some parts, the drivers went out on the soft tyres for their first runs with Magnussen setting a time of 1:12.280. The Dane would then head back to the garage to put on a fresh set of Red soft tyres and advanced into Q3, finishing in seventh place in the session and with a lap time of 1:11.410.
For Q3, the weather began to change with the sky darkening and Magnussen was the first driver to come out for the final round of qualifying on a new set of Red soft tyres. His first lap time of 1:11.674 put him on provisional pole for the time being. Not long after, George Russell brought out the red flag after beaching his car at Turn 4.
The session resumed with eight minutes remaining and as the rain began to fall, no improvement could be made by anyone which meant Magnussen had secured his first pole position in F1 on the weekend of his one hundredth Grand Prix start for Haas.
“It’s incredible. I want to say thank you to Gene Haas, Gunther [Steiner] and the whole team for taking me back on and giving me the opportunity to have a day like this – I’m so
chuffed,” spoke Magnussen after the session. “The team put me out in the pitlane as the first car and that was the game-changer.
“It gave me the best piece of track as it started to rain and we got pole. It was the longest minute of my life trying to stay calm as it looked like it was going to be wet but you never know. I’m so happy.”
Mick Schumacher: “Congratulations to Kevin and the team – they really deserve this.”
Mick Schumacher will be starting the sprint race from the opposite end of the grid compared to his team-mate as he qualified in twentieth.
The German driver had a good practice session earlier on in the day as he finished eighth on the timesheet. He was hoping that he would be able to carry this momentum into qualifying.
Q1 began with all the drivers starting on the Intermediate tyres but as the session progressed, everyone changed on to the Red soft tyres. As faster times were being set, Schumacher was unable to capitalise in the drying conditions, finishing in twentieth and exiting Q1.
“Firstly, Congratulations to Kevin and the team – they really deserve this. On my side, it was a bit confusing but maybe I underestimated the grip,” said Schumacher. “The track looked pretty damp, but it wasn’t as much as I thought.
“It’s very frustrating and tomorrow it means the job will be a bit harder but we’re up for it.”
