The 2022 Formulation One season is headed into its penultimate weekend, the Brazilian Grand Prix dash race, and an surprising face will roll off in pole place for Saturday’s dash occasion.
Kevin Magnussen, who started the season with out an F1 experience, secured the pole for the Brazilian Grand Prix. That is the primary pole place of his profession, and the primary pole place for Haas F1 Staff, the one American-owned F1 racing staff.
Climate was the largest issue that groups needed to take care of throughout Friday’s qualifying session. The primary of the three qualifying classes started in moist situations, as showers handed by the world shortly earlier than the session started. McLaren’s Lando Norris posted the quickest time throughout Q1:
Magnussen positioned in seventh throughout the first of the three classes.
The second qualifying session noticed the tempo quicken, because it was run in dry situations. That opened the door for Pink Bull’s Max Verstappen, who completed the second qualifying session atop the board. Verstappen’s lap time of 1:10.881 was the quickest of the primary two classes, and simply forward of the Ferrari duo of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc:
The third session started with a dry floor, and with rain closing in on Autódromo José Carlos Tempo, groups that took to the monitor early had a possible benefit. That included Magnussen, who rolled off early within the session and put down a blazing-fast lap time. Simply two minutes into the session, Magnussen had posted the fastest-time, however the clock was now maybe his largest enemy.
Haas F1 Staff shared the second Magnussen got here throughout the road and was instructed he was in P1:
Magnussen himself mentioned it greatest: “Don’t have fun.” As a result of there was numerous time left within the third session, and numerous nice groups and automobiles but to take to the monitor.
As Magnussen watched the remainder of the sphere try to beat his time, George Russell from Mercedes slid off the monitor, bringing out a purple flag and opening the door for one more driver to take the pole.
However then the rain arrived, and nobody may match Magnussen’s blazing lap:
Right here is the second when Magnussen and the remainder of Haas F1 Staff discovered they’d secured their first pole:
Following the celebration, Magnussen credited the staff for “placing [him] out on the monitor at precisely the proper second:”
Magnussen will now roll off in pole place in Saturday’s dash portion of the weekend. The Brazilian Grand Prix is the third — and remaining — dash race of the season. Saturday’s race, which sees Magnussen on the pole, will likely be a brief, 24-lap dash, with the highest eight finishers securing factors.
How the drivers end on Saturday will set the lineup for Sunday’s Grand Prix.
However for Haas, and Magnussen, none of that issues proper now. As a result of these legends lastly have their first pole place as a driver, and a staff.
