- A Lance Stroll crash in Sao Paulo was followed by a red flag, after a brief delay
- Verstappen failed to complete another lap in Q2, leaving him in 12th place
- A five-position penalty meant he finished very low on the starting grid in Brazil.
Max Verstappen was left furious by a late red flag call during qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix, as the Red Bull driver dropped to a disappointing 17th on the grid.
In the heavy rain of Sao Paulo, Lance Stroll crashed into a wall while trying to turn during Q2 and a red flag was shown, although after a brief delay when FIA race director Niels Wittich attempted to let the drivers who were doing a fast lap to finish their laps. .
The stop meant Verstappen was unable to complete another lap and, with the Dutchman stranded in 12th place for that round, he was eliminated from qualifying as only the top 10 managed to progress to Q3.
Add to that his five-place penalty due to Red Bull’s decision to change its power unit before the race and the reigning champion was left in 17th place, severely damaging his grand prix prospects.
Unhappy with Wittich’s call, Verstappen went on a foul-mouthed rant on the radio to express his displeasure.
Max Verstappen was angered by a late red flag call during qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Because he was eliminated in Q2 of qualifying on Sunday, Verstappen ended up qualifying 12th fastest. Therefore, the race will start in P17.
In the heavy rain of Sao Paulo, Lance Stroll crashed into a wall while trying to turn during Q2 and was subsequently shown a red flag.
He said: ‘A car hits the wall and has to be straight (red flag). I don’t understand why it takes 30 or 40 seconds for a red flag to come out, that’s nonsense.
‘Honestly, I’ll let it go. Anyway, it’s so stupid to talk about it, it’s ridiculous.
The red flag was the third of a hectic session after Carlos Sainz also suffered a crash early in Q2.
To make matters worse for Verstappen, his title rival Lando Norris took pole position ahead of this afternoon’s race, with Mercedes’ George Russell in second and RB’s Yuki Tsunoda one place behind.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner shared his driver’s anger at today’s decision as tempers flared in Brazil.
“We don’t understand why it took so long for the red flag to appear,” he said.
‘This is the second day in a row that we have received very late calls, whether due to yesterday’s VSC or today’s red flag. The other warning signs were all instantaneous.”
He added: “It’s enormously frustrating. A lot of things happen in a session like this. It was a huge accident, in one of the most dangerous corners here. It took 40 seconds until the Red Flag came out.
‘When there is an accident like that there should be an immediate Red Flag, at the most dangerous corner. And I know Crofty (David Croft) supported finishing the laps.
“We don’t understand why it took so long for the red flag to appear,” said Christian Horner.
Meanwhile, Carlos Sainz’s car had to be taken off the track after hitting the barriers.
Pole-sitter Lando Norris’s rain-soaked path to the world championship opened in qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix when Max Verstappen managed only the 12th fastest time.
‘We have fallen on the wrong side. So, it’s bad luck. Unfortunately, we were compromised on the first lap when Esteban (Ocon) passed us into the first corner. It’s been one of those mornings for us.
The qualifying round was delayed from yesterday after torrential rains hit Sao Paulo.
As the F1 season reaches its climax, the 16-place gap between Verstappen and Norris on today’s grid could prove vital, with the Briton closing the gap on the Red Bull driver to just 47 points in Mexico last last week.