CLOSE AND SPECTACULAR BEFORE THE RAIN

Max Verstappen scored a new Pole position for the Grand Prix of Sao Paulo, although in this case it may not have been expected and too easy.

The Dutchman had to show all his talent in the delicate conditions in the Q3 segment and beat Charles Leclerc by three tenths.

The cars of Aston Martin, again appeared at the top and will start from the second row.

Today we saw interesting qualifying with very close gaps, with the Q1 and Q2 sessions having a dry track, but in Q3 the drivers only had a chance for one attempt before the rain came. Those who waited longer in their garages, like McLaren drivers, did not have that luxury.

In this situation, Verstappen flew in a fast all-or-nothing lap on the track to his 31st Formula 1 pole position by almost three tenths of a second ahead of Charles Leclerc.

The Aston Martin drivers were smart to start first in Q3, securing the second row, with Lance Stroll in third and Fernando Alonso in fourth starting position.

Mercedes AMG duo Lewis Hamilton and George Russell followed in fifth and sixth, while Lando Norris, who looked impressively quick in Q2, had to settle for seventh on the grid.

Carlos Sainz Jr. ended the session in P8, while Sergio Perez and Oscar Piastri round out the top 10 drivers.

George Russell, Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly will lose two positions at the start of Sunday's Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

The Mercedes AMG driver and the Alpine drivers were penalized for obstructing the pit exit and disobeying the race director's instructions to position themselves as far left as possible if they wanted to slow down to create a gap to the car in front of them.

As a result of the penalty, George Russell will drop to eighth place at the start, behind Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz Jr., while Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly will start the race from P14, ie. P15.