News Summary
- Rafael Câmara crashed at Junção in the final minute of Q2 at Interlagos, bringing out the red flag with 43 seconds remaining.
- His first two sectors had put him on pace to challenge for Q3, but the Brazilian locked up, slid across the grass and hit the barrier.
- Câmara finished 13th in qualifying after recovering from an earlier impact on the back straight to get through Q1.
Rafael Câmara crashed out of São Paulo Grand Prix qualifying while trying to reach Q3 on his Formula 1 debut. The Haas driver was 13th when he lost control on the wet approach to Junção, bringing out the red flag with 43 seconds left in Q2. Race control ended the segment without a restart.
Câmara’s final attempt ends in the barrier
Câmara’s first two sector times suggested he was on course to challenge for a place in the top 10. But he locked a wheel on entry to Junção, slid onto the grass and hit the barrier head-on. The stoppage left him 13th in the qualifying classification, with the starting grid still to be confirmed.
Haas debutant recovered from an earlier hit in Q1
Câmara had already hit the barrier on the back straight in Q1, but was able to drive back to the pits. Haas got him back out, and he set the 13th-fastest time in the opening segment to advance. His first F1 qualifying session came days after Haas confirmed him as Esteban Ocon’s replacement for São Paulo.
The two incidents came after a sharp change in conditions at Interlagos. Final practice had run on a dry track, but torrential rain stopped Q1 just over two minutes after the scheduled start of qualifying. The session resumed at 16:26 local time, and drivers were switching back to intermediates during Q2.
GRANDE PRÊMIO is following every session of the São Paulo Grand Prix in Formula 1 live from Interlagos.
