Qualifying for the Brazil Grand Prix was red-flagged on Saturday morning with severe weather causing carnage.
Daniel Ricciardo was eliminated in the first round of qualifying in Brazil as Max Verstappen of Red Bull took pole position in difficult weather.
Ricciardo could not replicate his fourth qualifying result at the Mexico City Grand Prix and will start from 17th on the grid.
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The Aussie told Sky Sports the qualifying result was especially "frustrating" given AlphaTauri's success in Mexico.
"The first run was strong, I think we were definitely a lot faster than the overall time showed," Ricciardo said.
"That last lap I nearly had a spin turn 2, just came in a bit hot into Turn 1, probably didn't get the tyres into the right spot for the start of the lap.
"So we'd already lost a chunk in the first sector and then little bits and pieces throughout the lap.
"Frustrating because we were definitely faster than that but just a few things didn't quite work out."
The weather had a significant impact on McLaren with the team surprising many to look like the fastest cars in Q2.
But things turned in Q3, with Oscar Piastri spinning out, which will see him start from P10 after he was unable to complete a lap in Q3.
Each driver only had time for one flying lap before the final session was called off.
https://twitter.com/FastestPitStop/status/1720541132042461432?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Teams learned of the order with a message that appeared on their screens confirming a "change in climatic conditions" had forced the FIA stewards to pull the plug.
Verstappen clocked 1 minute, 10.727 seconds.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc will start in second position, with a lap 0.294 seconds behind Verstappen's.
Two Aston Martins will be in the second row with Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso, respectively.
Perez, who is still fighting for the runner-up position in the drivers' championship with Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton, will see his rival start from 5th place.
Qualifying at Interlagos started with a 15-minute delay due to debris on some of its main turns. No accidents took place in the lone practice session earlier. Verstappen set his time early in the third and decisive part session of qualifying and then rain started to pour.
Earlier, Ferrari's Carlos Sainz paced the field at Interlagos with a lap at 1 minute, 11.732 seconds at the only practice session of the weekend. Leclerc was 0.108 seconds behind.
The three-time F1 champion Verstappen spent a long portion of the practice session working with Red Bull on adjustments to his car and was only 16th fastest. The effort paid off with his car looking steadier than his rivals' during qualifying.
Perez was 18th in practice, in another sub-par showing for the embattled driver.
Verstappen has won a record 16 of 19 races so far this season, including four in a row. That includes the first two stops in a months long tour of the Americas. Verstappen won the U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, two weeks ago, then last Sunday at Mexico City.
F1 wraps up three consecutive weeks of racing in Sao Paulo and has a one-week break before the eagerly awaited Las Vegas Grand Prix. Verstappen closed his third consecutive title early last month and Red Bull has already won the manufacturer championship.
It's made the status of Perez, who has woefully underperformed this season in clearly dominant Red Bull equipment, the hottest topic in the sport. He's under contract at Red Bull, but the team also has Ricciardo under contract and Perez left Mexico City with reports swirling he'd be replaced next year by Fernando Alonso.
Alonso was displeased with the chatter when he got to Brazil and said it was disruptive to his Aston Martin team.
“Paddock rumors are normal, but people out there just try to make fun of it and gain some followers and these kinds of things,” Alonso said. “But I am not into that game. I am not enjoying the rumors.”
Perez is clinging to second in the F1 standings and trying to hold off Lewis Hamilton, who cut the deficit from 39 points to 20 with three races remaining when Perez crashed out of his home race last Sunday in Mexico.
Alonso in Friday practice said the track was dirty and “not in Formula One standards.” The veteran driver had the 11th quickest lap of practice. Stewards worked to clean some of the turns as soon as practice was over.
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