Report: Alex narrowly misses out on Q3 in changeable Brazilian conditions

Interlagos once again produced another memorable afternoon of Formula One action as scattered showers arrived just in time for Qualifying.

What followed was a topsy-turvy three sessions that could easily set the precedent for the rest of the weekend.

After a productive, but dry, FP1 session earlier in the day, much of the data that we gained soon went out of the window when rain fell an hour before Qualifying got underway.

Q1 started in intermediate conditions, but the track quickly dried out. Both Alex and Nicky popped by the pits and were among the first to fit soft tyres.

Unsurprisingly, the times tumbled and with just minutes to spare, both of our drivers had spells where they occupied P1.

Sadly for Nicky he would narrowly miss out on progressing to Q2 in P16, whilst Alex made it through in P8.

The threat of rain didn’t dissipate in Q2, and our sole remaining FW44 was on track early to get some banker laps on the board with soft tyres fitted.

Alex’s first stint saw him return to the pits in P12, heading back out on the circuit just as the drizzle began.

The Thai racer found time, but was agonisingly 0.044s shy of a Q3 berth before the precipitation got heavier, ultimately placing him P11.

“As a car, what makes our tyres work is different to most people,” Alex explained after Qualifying, continuing: “so we were really doing our own thing today.

“We did a really good job with P11 and at a track like this, it’s not easy and it was really close out there.

“We were only a couple tenths behind P5, so I’m really proud and think we did a great job.

“This hopefully sets us up for the rest of the weekend, but we’ll see what we can do out there tomorrow.”

Nicky continued our reaction by adding: “In these conditions it was quite clear when we went out on the inters that at some point it was going to switch to slicks.

“So it was tricky to try to judge the conditions and we tried to build the rhythm and get the right lap in at the end and I think I was among one of the first few cars to switch to slicks, so it could have gone either way.

“It was frustrating as you hope to be able to make a bit of a difference in the session, but we had some issues during the session as well, and without that I think there was room for a bit more.

Dave Robson, Head of Vehicle Performance, summarised a wild afternoon by sharing: “After a productive FP1 session in the dry, we were straight into wet qualifying.

“The conditions in Q1 were tricky with the track always likely to be ready for slicks before the end of the session but timing the swap off the intermediates was key.

“We got this about right, but it was tricky during the opening laps on the slick. Both drivers had several good opportunities to set a lap and Alex was able to make the most of them to qualify comfortably for Q2.

“Nicholas just missed out on a place in Q2 despite doing a good job in the difficult conditions.

“We were expecting more rain before the end of qualifying and tried to time the final run in Q2 as late as possible.

“Frustratingly, Alex wasn’t quite able to get into Q3, which is a shame as Haas showed what a good opportunity it was today; congratulations to them on an excellent pole position.

“We now move focus to FP2 and the Sprint race. We will get Alex’s car ready for Logan and then we’ll see what we can do in the Sprint.

“With more tropical weather around for the rest of the weekend, a lot could still happen and we’ll be ready to make the most of any opportunities.”