Formula 1 Qualifying For Brazilian Grand Prix Looks Like It Ended In The Middle Of The Apocalypse

Formula 1 is in Sao Paolo this weekend for the Brazilian Grand Prix. While this has been far from the most exciting F1 season on record, Mother Nature decided to show up and help put on a show during qualifying.

Brazil is a sprint weekend which means the schedule looks a little different. There's only one free practice session early Friday afternoon, which is followed by qualifying for the Grand Prix a couple of hours later instead of the usual second free practice session.

So for this reason a meaningful session was hit with some wild weather.

The session started in the late afternoon, but not after a brief weather delay. Once things got rolling there was a near constant threat of rain and it especially flared up during Q3.

To that point, it had been nice and sunny, but as Q3 got started some scary-looking pitch-black clouds rolled in over the Interlagos Circuit.

While rain can make a qualifying session more interesting, darkness — on a track without the necessary lightning for nighttime racing — does not. That coupled with rain coming down in sheets was a problem.

At one point Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso told his team what they could already see with their own eyes, that it was practically night time on track.

As you may have noticed, that message had some conspicuous timing. It came as Alonso and his teammate Lance Stroll were locking out the second row of the grid. T

I doubt the message was the catalyst for the session ending early, but trying to get the race director's attention never hurts. Race control threw a red flag and ended the session early due to the torrential rains and quasi-apocalyptic darkness.

Mother Nature Mixed Up The Brazilian Grand Prix Grid A Little Bit

Still, Mother Nature didn't do enough to keep Red Bull's Max Verstappen from taking pole. Sure his dominance has made this season dull at times, but you can't ignore just how superb he and Red Bull have been this year.

Joining him on the front row will be Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, and behind them will be the two Astons.

That's huge for Aston Martin. They appeared to have surrendered in their battle with McLaren for P4 in the Constructor Standings. McLaren's car has been on rails since about mid-summer. Meanwhile, Aston Martin — which had undeniably the second-best car on the grid through the first few races of the season — has dealt with one that handles like a shopping cart at times.

There are only 20 points between the two in the standings ahead of Saturday's sprint race. With the McLarens starting the Grand Prix in P7 and P10, that battle may not be finished just yet.

Follow on X: @Matt_Reigle