(Motorsport) In a surprising result, Kevin Magnussen secured both his and Haas’ first pole position in wet conditions at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix qualifying session. The Danish driver finished ahead of two time World Champion Max Verstappen, topping the chart with eight minutes remaining on Q3 before George Russell, who finished third triggered a red flag by spinning on the gravel. Conditions began worse with more rain which meant that no driver could improve on their lap time when the session resumed, much to the delight of Magnussen and Haas. 

McLaren’s Lando Norris, who topped the timesheet in Q1, finished in fourth place ahead of Scuderia Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, who will face a five place grid penalty for an engine change. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso finished sixth and seventh respectively followed by Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton. Red Bull’s Sergio Perez finished in ninth place ahead of Scuderia Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who was shockingly sent on intermediate tyres at the start of Q3. 

The grid positions will determine how the drivers will be placed ahead of the final sprint session of the season on Saturday with Verstappen looking to complete a hattrick of sprint victories, having already won in Austria and Imola. Speaking after the qualifying, Magnussen said “I came in as this arrogant little kid thinking I was the king of the world. I had a lot of lessons after that, showing how difficult it actually is in this sport. Now I'm in pole position so I'm just going to enjoy it." I still can't really believe it. What a phenomenal job the team did to put me out on the pitlane as the first car to give me the best piece of track. It was starting to rain so that was the crucial part." 

Sao Paulo GP: Qualifying Result, Top 10

1) Kevin Magnussen, Haas
2) Max Verstappen, Red Bull
3) George Russell, Mercedes
4) Lando Norris, McLaren
5) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
6) Esteban Ocon, Alpine
7) Fernando Alonso, Alpine
8) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
9) Sergio Perez, Red Bull
10) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

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