Dangerously wet conditions led to chaos and numerous accidents during qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix; The F1 race was cut short and temporarily halted due to further collisions following a delayed start.

Alex Albon, Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll, Carlos Sainz and Franco Colapinto crashed during qualifying due to heavy rain in Sao Paulo.

There was further confusion and drama on the grid when the start of the F1 race was canceled after Stroll crashed for the second time in as many hours during the formation lap at Interlagos.

Officials confirmed that the grand prix would go to 69 laps after the canceled start and two formation laps, and 31 laps later the race was stopped and restarted following a major crash in which Colapinto again lost control of his car.

Three-time world champion Max Verstappen, who has not won a race since the Spanish Grand Prix in June, ended his winless streak by winning Sunday’s rainy race after starting 17th on the grid.

He had previously expressed his disappointment after a nightmarish qualifying session and attempted to move up the rankings. And with the help of a fortuitously timed safety car, the Dutch claimed victory.

He said after the race: “My emotions today were like a rollercoaster as I was really unlucky with the red flag in qualifying.”

“Starting from 17th, I knew this was going to be a very tough race.

“We stayed out of trouble, made the right decisions, stayed calm and were flying. All of that combined. I mean, incredible. To win here from this far back on the grid… yeah.”

Each of the three stages of qualifying on Sunday morning was interrupted by at least one accident. This resulted in five red flags, which were used to stop the practice session, qualifying session or race due to a serious accident or extreme weather conditions.

The flags affected their qualifying, infuriating the drivers who were forced to reduce their speed and return to the pit lane.

The session was postponed until Sunday after rain and lightning on Saturday made conditions unsafe.

Sunday’s postponed qualifying session ended with McLaren driver Lando Norris on pole position and championship rival Verstappen failing to advance to the third stage of qualifying.

The Red Bull driver was on track to improve his time in the wet, but Stroll’s crash led to the third of five red flags and the second stage of qualifying was stopped with 46 seconds remaining.

“The car hits the wall and it should be straight on red,” Verstappen said. he said.

“I don’t understand why it has to take 30 to 40 seconds for the red flag to appear. It’s just nonsense. It’s so stupid to talk about it anyway. It’s ridiculous.”

After qualifying ended, Verstappen was left in a furious 12th place, falling far behind in the starting grid while the Dutch driver served a five-place engine penalty for modifying part of his car.

He left the advantage to Norris. The 24-year-old British pilot maintained his courage in difficult conditions and placed his McLaren at the front of the grid in today’s race, but finished the race in 6th place.

He is also under investigation for a possible starting procedure violation after retiring from the race, although there was no green light when the start was cancelled.

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Colapinto became the first person to have an accident when he hit the barriers at the third turn during the qualifying lap. The Argentinian driver emerged unscathed but was unable to continue qualifying.

A second delay came after Sainz, who won in Mexico City a week ago, also crashed into the wall after losing control of his Ferrari. Stroll’s crash led to his third suspension.

Alonso was the fourth driver to hit the wall while spinning, before Albon’s final impact at the opening corner in the third stage of qualifying forced him to retire due to damage to his car.

Lewis Hamilton is widely regarded as one of the sport’s best ever wet weather drivers, but the seven-time world champion crashed out of the early stages but recovered during the race to finish 10th.

The 39-year-old driver, who spent his last season at Mercedes before going to Ferrari, said his car was “undrivable”.