Verstappen anticipates 'close' Brazilian GP after 'insane' qualifying weather

Max Verstappen anticipates a challenging battle for victory in Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix following a 'close' qualifying session.

Verstappen secured his 11th pole position of the season on Friday, edging out Charles Leclerc for the top spot on the front row.

The Dutch driver's flying lap was just in time before torrential rain deluged the circuit midway through Q3, leading Race Control to halt the session with a red flag.

With Red Bull experiencing only one defeat this season, at the Singapore Grand Prix, Verstappen expects another closely contested race in Sao Paulo.

Verstappen: We have to get race management right

“It seems that it's all very close so you can see that already in qualifying,” Verstappen told Sky Sports F1.

“I expect the same also in the race around here there's always quite a lot of deg from the tyres.

“So it's all about that management and last year we didn't get that right but I think we will be better this year.”

Verstappen: Rain was insane

They'll need headlights if they go out again ?#F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/PiLcKv1iIW

— Formula 1 (@F1) November 3, 2023

“We didn’t know when it would hit in qualifying," Verstappen said of the rain which halted the session. "We thought it would hit but this is insane weather.

"Charles and I were just discussing, our laps, they felt terrible but I don’t know.

"I think the wind started to change and started to be very strong and we lost a lot of lap time because of it. It was all quite hectic in the last lap."

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