Chaos and crashes at the wet F1 Brazilian Grand Prix – as Max Verstappen takes victory from 17th | World News

Treacherous wet conditions led to chaos and multiple accidents during qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix – the F1 race was canceled and temporarily suspended due to further accidents following a late start.

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

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

Officials confirmed that the Grand Prix would last 69 laps after the canceled start and two formation laps – and after 31 laps the race was canceled and restarted following a serious accident in which Colapinto lost control of his car again.

Three-time world champion Max Verstappen, who had not won a race since the Spanish Grand Prix in June, ended that winning streak by winning Sunday's rain-affected race after starting 17th on the grid.

After previously venting his frustration after a nightmarish qualifying session, he worked his way up the grid. And with the help of a randomly timed safety car, the Dutchman secured victory.

“My emotions have been a rollercoaster today as I was really unlucky with the red flag in qualifying,” he said after the race.

“When I started from 17th place, I knew it would be a very tough race.

“We stayed out of trouble, we made the right decisions, we stayed calm and we flew. All these things together. I mean, incredible. To win here from so far back on the grid…yeah.”

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

The flags infuriated the drivers, who were forced to reduce their speed and return to the pit lane – affecting their placing.

The session had already been postponed until Sunday after rain and lightning made conditions unsafe on Saturday.

Sunday's delayed qualifying ended with McLaren's Lando Norris in pole position – title rival Verstappen failed to make it into the third phase of qualifying.

The Red Bull driver was on track to improve his time in wet conditions, but Stroll's accident resulted in the third of five red flags – and the second phase of qualifying was abandoned with 46 seconds to go.

“The car hits the wall and it has to be a clear red indicator,” said Verstappen.

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

By the end of qualifying, a furious Verstappen was in 12th place – and with the Dutchman serving a five-place engine penalty for replacing a part of his car, he ended up way back on the grid.

It had given Norris the advantage. The 24-year-old British driver held his nerve despite the treacherous conditions and placed his McLaren at the front of the grid for today's race, but finished the race in sixth place.

He is also being investigated for a possible violation of start procedure after he withdrew even though there was no green light at the time the start was aborted.

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Colapinto was the first to crash in qualifying after sliding into the barrier in the third corner. The Argentine remained unscathed, but was unable to continue qualifying.

A second delay came after Sainz, who won in Mexico City a week ago, also ended up in the wall after losing control of his Ferrari. Stroll's fall resulted in a third suspension.

Alonso was the fourth driver to hit the wall when he spun before Albon had a late accident at the first corner in phase three of qualifying, forcing him out of the race due to the damage to his car.

Lewis Hamilton is considered one of the best wet weather drivers of all time, but the seven-time world champion was eliminated in the first phase but fought back over the course of the race to finish tenth.

The 39-year-old, who is completing his final season with Mercedes before moving to Ferrari, described his machine as “undriveable”.