F1 Qualifying Results: Big crash forces DRAMATIC Verstappen exit

Max Verstappen and Red Bull have suffered a nightmare Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying session, with the Formula 1 champion suffering a shock early exit as championship rival Lando Norris secured a stunning pole position in the wet.

Both Verstappen and team-mate Sergio Perez were knocked out in Q2 after a late red flag caused by Lance Stroll caught both the Dutchman and the Mexican out.

To make matters even worse for the Red Bull star, Verstappen is now set to start the grand prix later today all the way down in P17 given he has a five-place grid penalty.

F1 HEADLINES: FIA issue MULTIPLE penalties as Verstappen hit with LATE demotion at Brazilian Grand Prix

READ MORE: FIA announce F1 star DISQUALIFIED from Brazilian GP

READ MORE: F1 star crash brings red flag CHAOS at wet Brazilian GP

Earlier in the day it was Lewis Hamilton’s early exit that was the talk of the paddock. The Mercedes star endured a challenging session in Sao Paulo, ultimately qualifying 16th on the grid and exiting in Q1.

VCARB were the surprise package of the day, with Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson putting on impressive performances to qualify in P3 and P5 respectively.

It was a very tricky session for all 20 drivers, with a staggering five red flags flown after several crashes throughout Q1, Q2 and Q3.

F1 Qualifying Results: Brazilian Grand Prix 2024

1. Lando Norris [McLaren] - 1:23.405sec
2. George Russell [Mercedes] - +0.173
3. Yuki Tsunoda [VCARB] - +0.706
4. Esteban Ocon [Alpine] - +1.070
5. Liam Lawson [VCARB] - +1.079
6. Charles Leclerc [Ferrari] - +1.120
7. Alex Albon [Williams] - +1.252
8. Oscar Piastri [McLaren] - +1.281
9. Fernando Alonso [Aston Martin] - +5.593
10. Lance Stroll [Aston Martin] - NO TIME

ELIMINATED IN Q2

11. Valtteri Bottas [Kick Sauber]
12. Max Verstappen [Red Bull]
13. Sergio Perez [Red Bull]
14. Carlos Sainz [Ferrari]
15. Pierre Gasly [Alpine]

ELIMINATED IN Q1

16. Lewis Hamilton [Mercedes]
17. Oliver Bearman [Haas]
18. Franco Colapinto [Williams]
19. Nico Hulkenberg [Haas]
20. Zhou Guanyu [Kick Sauber]

How does F1 Qualifying work?

The qualifying session is split into three finite windows, which provide a dramatic prelude to Sunday's race.

The bottom five drivers are eliminated at the end of Q1, with a further five eliminated after Q2.

Then, Q3 gives us a shootout between the remaining 10 drivers in the battle for positions at the front of the grid.

READ MORE: FIA issue last-minute penalties for THREE F1 stars at Brazilian Grand Prix

Related

More F1 news

Latest F1 news

Toto Wolff says Ferrari 'looked like idiots' over Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc incident

• 2 hours ago

Lando Norris lost the Spanish GP because he was too fast and that sums up sorry F1

• 3 hours ago

'Lewis will never trust Charles again' - F1 journalist issues shocking Ferrari statement

• Today 18:45

F1 Qualifying Results: 2026 Spanish Grand Prix positions and times at Madring

• September 12, 2026 17:07

F1 News Today: Lewis Hamilton concedes title as Sky Sports blame F1 driver for Madrid mess

• Today 11:26

Team fined for 'woman wearing shorts' at Spanish Grand Prix

• Today 10:57