The qualifying round for the São Paulo Grand Prix turned into a battlefield! Heavy rainfall resulted in no less than five red flags; both Williams drivers, two Aston Martins, and Carlos Sainz were forced to bow out. We now know that Sainz will have to start the race from the pit lane and that Alexander Albon will not be able to participate at all. Helmut Marko is questioning whether this chaotic qualifying round should have even taken place.
“During this qualifying round, we saw five cars crash,” Marko told Viaplay. “Some of them really hit hard.” For instance, Alexander Albon crashed into the wall so hard during Q3 that his FW46 cannot be repaired in time for the Grand Prix. Initially, he would have started from P7 – the best starting position of the year for the Williams driver – but now he has to sit out the São Paulo Grand Prix.
Wrong decision?
“I don’t know if it was the right decision to let the qualifying round continue,” Marko continued. Red Bull was also a victim of the chaos at Interlagos. Lance Stroll parked his Aston Martin in the wall during Q2, but the race direction waited so long with the red flag that both Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez no longer had time for a fast lap. The Red Bull drivers ended up in twelfth and thirteenth place respectively.
“It took more than thirty seconds for the red flag to appear,” Marko continued, frustrated. “With the other accident involving Alonso, the red flag was immediately out. That is of course very annoying, because our car could have fought in the front anyway.” During the sprint race on Saturday, Max Verstappen already proved that he could keep up with both McLarens. He also managed to keep Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari behind him.
